Something Inside
by The Telepathic Hawk
Summary: For 232 years Ryan has believed that he would spend eternity alone. Now a man has come and changed his world. Only problem is...he's human. And a vampire cannot love a human. M/F/F, M/M
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical, nor do I make any profit off of the writing of this story.

Author's Note: In honor of the Halloween season, the Twilight movie coming out in a month, and High School Musical 3 being out I've decided to post this story about vampires. Make no mistake, however, this is not based on Twilight and will be a little (or a lot) more risqué than a High School Musical movie. I love and appreciate reviews, so if you have time please feel free to leave one! If you decide the story is worthy of a flame, please be civil in your wording choice. Thank you and happy reading!

Warning: This story involves an established threesome relationship (M/F/F) as well as a homosexual relationship (M/M). It will also contain a good deal of sexual material and some language. If you aren't into those kinds of things, please just don't read it.

He was at home here. Here in the dark, here where bodies were pressed so tightly together that he could dance with an endless supply, all drawn to his unnatural beauty and grace. The music pounded through his body covered in skin tight leather and netting, making him feel almost alive again as endless pairs of hands copped feels that he didn't even mind. When he was here, among those trying to lose themselves as much as he tried to forget who and what he was, he felt the most comfortable. He lifted his hands above his head, twirled around, felt arms come around his waist, a hand rest on his crotch as a jean covered erection rubbed into his ass. He smiled a little, coyly, even as his mind sighed heavily. He could never forget what he was. The hunger never let him go. He turned around in the strong arms that held him, arms he could break without a thought, and smiled at his current partner. He was really quite attractive. Over six feet, in great shape, olive skin, light brown hair streaked with blond, nearly black eyes.

And he was married. Well, that was unfortunate. Not only for him, but for the wife who had no idea that her husband took a week every year, a business trip he told her, took off his ring, and danced and slept with men. Why couldn't people just learn to be themselves? He hid his scoff by leaning in to kiss the unprotected neck of the man who thought he was holding a beautiful, fragile boy in his arms. What would he say if he knew the fragile boy could think snap his neck and be gone before anyone even suspected something was wrong? He allowed the chaste kiss to become a sensual sucking when he felt the rumble of a groan in the man's chest. When the arms tightened around him, he bit down, allowing himself a taste. The coppery taste both excited and repulsed him as he continued to suck for just a moment. The man was now groaning out loud and humping him in the middle of the dance floor, two hands square on his ass.

"John," the man moaned in his ear.

"Evan," he responded, "I don't live far. Want to get out of here?"

"Fuck yeah."

"Then, come on, big man, let's go. I can't wait any more. I want you so bad." He rolled his eyes at the words coming out of his own mouth as he pulled away and wrapped his arm around the man's waist. The man was already feeling the euphoria of his initial bite and didn't even think to question how they got out of the club and to a darkened alley so quickly.

"I thought we were going to your place?" John was cute when he was slightly confused.

"It's so much naughtier, so much hotter, if we do it here. Don't you think?"

"Uh, sure. But, do you have…I don't want to hurt you…And I don't have any protection with me." Oh. He was courteous and thoughtful, caring about his potential tricks. Maybe he would let John live. Seemed like a decent guy to have in the world, despite the fact he cheated on his wife.

"Don't worry, big man. I got everything we need. When you wake up, you'll be in your hotel room and think you drank yourself into passing out. You won't remember a thing about me. Don't worry. You'll be weak for a couple of days and your neck will hurt like hell, but you'll live. Promise."

"What?" John was primed to swing and run, but not fast enough. Before the big man could even twitch, he was pinned against the wall. He was aware that what the boy, not so young as he thought, was doing to him hurt like hell even as he was harder than he had ever been before. His vision was fading, he couldn't breathe, his body began to twitch from lack of oxygen even as the boy pulled away and John saw the blood on his smiling lips.

Vampire. The word crossed his mind as he slipped down the wall. The blonde, somehow more beautiful with blood on his lips, straddled him and buried his hands in his hair.

"John, breathe," the boy demanded and John complied. He took a gasping breath and came hard in his pants when the boy slipped his tongue, still covered in his own blood, in his mouth and jerked their hips together once.

"Vamp…" he tried to force the word out and the boy set a finger to his lips.

"Let's not ruin it, John. Why don't you go ahead and pass out now? Things will look better in the morning. Oh, and you really should tell your wife. It's not good for either of you to live a lie." The boy sounded so gentle, so sincere, that John complied.

Ryan Evans couldn't help but sigh heavily as he laid the big man he had fed on in his hotel room bed. What would he give if he could have actually been putting a lover to bed? If he hadn't had to have lied about his name and taken this stranger into a back alley? He stroked John's hair away from his face.

"You're always so gentle with them, Ryan. It's admirable." Ryan wasn't surprised at the voice. He had known his sire and long time friend? enemy? acquaintance? was in the room as soon as he stepped into it.

"If you came just to make fun of me, Troy…"

"Not at all. We've made changes in the past fifty years, Ryan. If you visited more often…" He sounded sincere, but Ryan didn't want to get into the old argument.

"We're not getting into this right now!" Ryan couldn't help the growl that escaped as he turned to the corner of the room and Troy stepped out of the shadows, put together and handsome as always in his business suit. Troy lifted his hands in submission.

"As you wish."

"How did you find me?" Ryan asked quietly, moving over to the mini-bar and gazing longingly at the whiskey. Troy just raised an eyebrow.

"Need you really ask? You can't just break a connection like that, Ryan. It was just made stronger when we turned you both. She misses you terribly. I was going to be gone on Council business anyway and she asked me to find you. How could I refuse my girl?"

"How is she?" Ryan gave in.

"Good. She's happy. Or she will be as long as I bring you back with me. You needn't stay with us, Ryan, but don't make me force you back to see your own sister."

Ryan spun around and hissed at Troy, who stood placidly, studying his nails. He caught a glimpse of thought in Troy's mind that softened him a little. For all Troy tried to play the high powered business man with no feeling, his thoughts often betrayed him and he knew it. Ryan had a feeling he'd let it slip purposefully so that Ryan could see what he couldn't lower himself to say out loud.

_Please, please come back with me, Ryan. She'll never forgive me if you don't come back with me and I can't stand it when she's sad. Her tears break me._

Ryan sighed in resignation, "Lead the way."

"Good choice, Ryan! Now, let's go. I've been away from my ladies far too long."

Troy smiled and threw back his head to laugh. Ryan just rolled his eyes. It would be good to see his sister, but even as he and Troy jumped off of the balcony together, and he looked toward the west, a great dread settled over his heart. Something would happen when he went west. For good or ill he couldn't tell yet. He frowned as they began to run and wished, briefly, that he still believed in God enough to pray that it would be good.


	2. Chapter 2

All previous disclaimers apply.

Bored. Bored. Bored. What was what she supposed to do all night when one of her lovers was only God knew where and the other insisted that reading was entertainment and that she should find a book and entertain herself? She had tried. She really had. She had taken a swim in the moonlight in her skimpiest bikini, knowing how Gabriella liked to look at her. But, her beautiful dusky skinned lover hadn't even come to the window. She had poured herself some of the blood they had stocked up on, put it in one of their best crystal goblets, sat on the arm of the ancient chair that Gabriella loved and offered her some, making sure that her voice implied that she could have much, much more. Gabriella had just declined politely and turned back to her book. So, she'd tried another tactic. She'd tried reading, like Gabi had suggested. But, the romance novel, as well as it had been written, had failed to hold her attention. Now Sharpay knew she would have to do something drastic. She wanted attention and she wanted Gabriella and she wanted both now. And Sharpay Evans always got what she wanted from her lovers. She had for two hundred and thirty two years. It wasn't going to change now.

"Gabriella?" She knew that she was whining as she set her hands to the top of the big chair, just at chest level, and pushed herself up over the tall back so that she was just over the darker girl, looking down at her. She knew that Gabriella had to be concentrating quite hard on the book if she could ignore the way Sharpay was pestering her, using her whiniest voice, but she didn't care. It was childish, but she had been told from the moment that she was turned that all she ever need do was ask and she would get whatever she wanted. She had tried subtle, but now she wanted what she wanted.

"Yes, Sharpay?" When Gabriella didn't even look up at her to ask the question Sharpay squealed indignantly and grabbed the book from her hands, tearing a couple of pages in the process because Gabriella had been expecting a fit and had been holding onto the book tightly.

"Pay attention to me!" She demanded shrilly.

Gabriella growled threateningly from the back of her throat, putting her hand in the air for the book. Sharpay just launched it across the room, congratulating herself of her aim when it landed in the fireplace and went up in flames. She smirked down at Gabriella and was about to push herself away from the chair and saunter out of the room, leaving Gabriella no choice but to follow her if she wanted to fight, when her shoulders were grasped by two very strong hands and she was flipped over the back of the chair and into Gabriella's lap. Sharpay whimpered when she felt one of the strong arms wrap around her waist, effectively pinning her there, while the other hand closed tight around her neck, effectively cutting off her air.

"That was an original eighteenth century manuscript, Sharpay. One of a kind. And you just destroyed it like it was nothing." Gabriella's voice was low, a growl. Sharpay couldn't help herself. She whimpered again and moved a little against the woman holding her captive.

Gabriella sighed in her ear, and the hand around her throat loosened in the slightest, "You're such a spoiled little bitch, Shar." The voice was no longer angry, but soft and seductive. Sharpay gasped when the arm around her waist moved to cup her breast and began massaging it, "You know that, don't you?"

Sharpay just moaned lightly and tossed her head back onto Gabriella's shoulder so that her lover could attack her neck with her mouth. She brought her hand up and buried it in the abundant dark hair, holding on as Gabriella's hand moved from massaging her breast and dipped lower, over her abdomen, just to the top of her tight jeans.  
"Gabi," Sharpay moaned, "Oh, Gabi, please don't tease me. I want so badly."

"Hmm," Gabriella murmured in her ear as she deftly undid the button and began sliding the zipper down, "Have you been a little lonely, kitten? No wonder. The last time we did anything was . . . before breakfast. I'm surprised you waited so long."

Sharpay bit down on a scream and allowed her body to arch in reaction as Gabriella's skillful fingers found her entrance and slid over her warm heat firmly, concentrating on the bud that gave her the most pleasure.

"Gabi," she whispered, unable to get anything else out.

"On the floor," Gabriella said gently, "I want to taste you."

Sharpay didn't have to be told twice. She climbed off of Gabriella when the strong arm released her and stripped herself of her jeans and sports bra quickly while Gabriella stripped down to the buff as well. For a moment they just looked at each other, smiles on their faces. Gabriella moved to Sharpay and took her hand. The girl was just so beautiful, paler now than when they had first met so many years ago. Her eyes were ice blue now, as were her own, but she could remember a time when they had been dark. She couldn't say which she preferred more. She smiled at her and set a hand to Sharpay's cheek.

"Lay down," she whispered.

"I love you," Sharpay whispered back.

"I love you, too," Gabriella's voice was soft and gentle.

Sharpay did as she was told and laid in front of the fire. She felt her body grow warm as she watched Gabriella sweep a gaze over her before laying down next to her and taking her in her arms. Sharpay moaned quietly as Gabriella's head drifted lower and her beautiful black haired girl took an already hard nipple in her mouth, suckling like a baby. There was no thinking when they were in each other's arms. There was just Gabi and Shar and "More…" and "Right there…" and soft sighs and gentle moans. Their loving was always pleasurable, as it had been from the day they had met, but they both felt the something missing and their mutual climaxes were met with soft kisses and bittersweet tears rather than screams of pleasure and clinging bodies.

"I really do love you, Sharpay," Gabi said quietly when they were finally laying together at peace, a blanket beneath them and a large pillow beneath their heads.

"I know," Sharpay smiled and snuggled into her arms, completely relaxed in the sweet, complete emotion of being held tightly by her lover, one of only three people she would die without, "I really love you, too." She felt it as Gabriella stiffened a little and knew that her lover was trying to find the right words to say something she knew Sharpay wouldn't want to hear, "What's wrong, Gabi?"

"Sweetheart," Gabriella kissed her gently, "I just don't want you to be too disappointed if Troy can't find …"

"He will find him," Sharpay cut her off firmly, "He promised. Troy never breaks his promises."

"No, he doesn't," Gabriella conceded, then held Sharpay closer when she heard the sniffles. She felt like crying, too. For the same reason, she knew, "Hey," she whispered, "It's okay. I miss him, too."

"I love you so much, Gabi, but it just doesn't feel …"

"Right," Gabi placed a kiss to her forehead, "It just doesn't feel right without him here. I agree. I feel that way, too. Like there's a part of us missing, right?"

Sharpay nodded and Gabriella looked down just in time to kiss the tear she cried away, "Also, it's… we haven't been apart for more than a night for more than two hundred years. It's strange without him. It's not lonely because you're here with me, but I just… three months is a really long time to be away from someone you love so much."

"Yes it is," Gabi agreed and kissed Sharpay gently, "We've been awake for hours, baby. Why don't we take a nap, hmm? Maybe when we wake up…who knows?"

"Okay," Sharpay agreed.

It only felt like moments before she was being awoken by a gentle kiss and a voice just next to her ear.

"This is exactly how I like to find my girls," Troy whispered, "Naked and in each other's arms."

"Troy?" She came awake immediately when she saw him smiling down at her, "Troy!" She threw herself in his arms and felt that she could never be more complete than when Gabriella pressed against her back and the three of them held each other. They cooed into each other's ears, kissed each other's faces. It didn't matter if she was kissing Troy or Gabriella. She was just so relieved to have both of them back with her.

"That's it," Troy murmured as he held them both, one on each side of his chest, alternating between kissing Gabriella's forehead and Sharpay's, "I don't care what the Council says, next time I leave to meet with them, my girls are coming with me. I can't be away from you both for so long. It nearly killed me."

"Us, too," Gabriella murmured, kissing his neck.

"We missed you so much," Sharpay clung closer to him again and took a deep breath of his familiar scent, catching another with it that made her jerk his head around and attack his mouth with her own.

"I love you," she cried happily, "I love you! I love you!" She pushed herself out of his arms and bolted for the entrance to the large house they were renting.

"You found him for her," Gabriella smiled at the bare backside almost hidden by long blond hair disappearing down the hall. She smiled widely at Troy and launched herself into his arms, kissing him for all he was worth, "Have I told you recently how much I love you? This is going to make her so happy!"

"I want you both to be happy," Troy took Gabriella's face in his hands and kissed her gently, "I love you both so much. Seriously, Gabs, I can't be away from either of you for this long again."

"I know," she allowed herself a brief moment to snuggle, "We meant it, too. We nearly went crazy here without you. Come on, Wildcat. We better take a sheet to her before she makes Ryan blush."

Troy laughed and kissed the first woman he had ever loved. He and Gabriella had always been meant to be. They had found each other when they were still both young vampires, both recently turned by different sires. The year had been 1587. Troy, then known as Cale, had been turned after a vampire had been careless drinking from his dying body after a battle. When he had come back to himself, he had been in a dark cave, a fire illuminating the cave walls. In the flickering light he had seen the most beautiful face. At first, her skin, darker than his, had alarmed him.

"Spanish?" he had questioned, leaping up and pressing his back against the cave wall. He had surprised himself with the strength he felt in his body, the agility. The Catholic Spanish had still been the sworn enemies of the Protestant English at the time. But, she had just smiled at him and held a cup out to him.

"I was," she said in heavily accented English, "Now I am something different. Like you."

He had taken the cup, put it to his lips, taken a sip, and swallowed the rest when he found it to be the most satisfying of liquids. He wasn't as upset as he had thought he should be when he realized it was blood, human blood, that she kept filling the cup with. He had just taken his seat again, allowing himself to look at her as they both drank.

"I found you on the battlefield, going through the transformation. Did your sire explain nothing to you?"

He had simply looked at her and she had continued, "You are now a creature of the night. The sun is death, remember that. You have become death. The blood of others is what we need to survive. Do you understand?"

"I understand…" And he had. It was as if his new form was the form he been meant to have since the moment of his creation. He had felt more natural in the hunter's body than he ever could in the human's, "What is your name?"

"Gabriella," she had smiled then and he had lost his heart, "And yours?"

"Cale."

She pursed her lips, "No. That is not your true name. But, it will do until we can find what you were always meant to be called. We'll start looking tomorrow."

They had begun their search for his name the next night and had been together nearly every night ever since. Nearly two hundred years later they had found their Sharpay singing on stage for her supper. They had recognized her soul, and she theirs, right away and they had both turned her that very first evening. The three of them together were complete, in love, and perfect.

"Sheet," Troy reminded her when their kisses became desperate, before he wouldn't have been able to pull back, "We'll let them talk for a few minutes. Then I'm dragging you both to the bedroom for no less than three nights. Ryan will have to find a way to amuse himself."

Gabriella thought back on the dream she'd had just a few days earlier and her face grew thoughtful, "I'm sure he'll find something to keep his attention," she blinked and the look of concentration turned to a brilliant smile, "I love you, Troy."

"I love you, too, Gabriella. Let's go get our girl."


	3. Chapter 3

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

"Chad, please, I am begging you to tell me what we're doing here." Taylor McKessie frowned heavily at her best friend as she motioned to the bar tender to refill her drink. When Chad had decided that they would be coming out this evening he had told her that they would be going to a club they had never been to, but had neglected to tell her that they wouldn't even be dancing. In the hour and half since they been there the music had been great, there had been plenty of men that had approached them both to dance, and the drinks had been strong and good. Yet, Chad had stayed at the bar, turning down anyone who asked him to dance, sipping only one light beer that had to have gone flat and warm by now, and letting his eyes scan the room continuously. Of course, he hadn't told her that she couldn't dance with the men who asked her and have a good time, but what kind of best friend would she be if she left him alone when something was obviously on his mind?

"Please?" she practically crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and glaring at the blonde who had begun to approach Chad. He was acting strange enough. She didn't want to have to deal with scaring away a drunk bimbo, too. Because that was what the female best friend of a gay man did. And he chased away men who creeped her out. At least he did when he was acting normal, anyway. She smiled when the bimbo turned around and the bartender handed her her new fresh drink. She handed him her money and smiled winningly, to which he responded by allowing his finger to brush the back of her hand as he pulled away. She logged it away in her mind for after she figured out what was wrong with Chad. There could be potential there.

"I'm sorry, Tay," Chad turned to her with a sigh, "I know I'm a drag tonight. I was just so sure… I had a glimpse…"

The word made Taylor sit up straight and look at him seriously. Chad had been having what her grandmother called "glimpses" for as long as she'd known him. The first time she'd brought Chad over to meet Grandma Irene when they were seven her grandmother had known, had said that her mother was the same way. She didn't know what it was about some people, but they just knew things, saw things that normal people couldn't. Grandma Irene had told her to always make sure that she listened when Chad said that he had glimpsed something. She was glad she had paid attention. When they were nine, Chad had suddenly screamed that they had to get out of the weather drain they were playing in. Only a minute later a flash flood had come through it. Just last year, Chad had told her not to go home with a guy who had been flirting with her at a club. The next day he had been arrested for the rape of a young woman he had met at that same club. Of course, not all of Chad's glimpses had given them happy endings. He had known without having to be told that his mother had been killed in a car accident when he was twelve and had been at Taylor's in the middle of the night hours before Grandma Irene had passed.

Chad had come to live with her family after his mother had passed, and there had never been a time when they were apart. He had been there when her first boyfriend broke her heart into a million pieces. She had been the one to hold him when he had kissed his first boy and had been so scared about what it meant when he had liked it. He was like her brother and she loved him more than anyone, so she knew him better than anyone. He had been off for days, and now he was on edge, waiting for whatever he was waiting for.

"What was it?" she asked quietly, laying her hand on the inside of his elbow. She didn't know why, but it had always comforted him when she did so. She called him weird, but was secretly glad that there was something she could do that would always give him comfort.

"Something's going to happen here tonight. A guy…"

"Ooh…" Taylor sat back, "For you or for me?"

"For me," he turned to her and grinned when she sighed, then his face went serious on her again, "Seriously, Taylor, this guy… there's something about him that's gonna change my…there he is!"

Taylor smiled when he took her hand and squeezed in his excitement. She turned to where he was looking and had to whistle out through her teeth in appreciation. The four people who had just entered the club were beautiful, it couldn't be denied. They didn't try to make an entrance, they just seemed to do it naturally. It wasn't hard. Three of them were pale, skin white as milk and just as smooth. The fourth had slightly duskier skin that still seemed more pale than it should have been. The two women were striking to begin with, features perfectly organized on flawless skin, hair that went past their backsides, black and blonde. Taylor didn't even think they were wearing make-up. They were on either side of a stunning brunet, cuddled up to him. He kissed them both often, touched them constantly while they were plastered to his sides, arms wrapped around him even as they linked hands themselves and gave each other looks that would have steamed if they could. Taylor wasn't an expert on reading people, by any means, but even she could see that their body language led to one conclusion. The three of them were lovers…together.

She felt her face get hot and turned her gaze to the blond man walking behind them. While the other three looked comfortable, calm, and cool, he looked a little like he didn't really want to be there. He was just as beautiful as the others, looked a lot like the blonde woman who was with the man and the other woman. Taylor guessed that they were probably related. Brother and sister most likely.

"Okay," she whispered to Chad, "Which one? The blond with the sky eyes or the brunet in the threesome?"

"The blond!" Chad smacked her arm. She grinned.

"So, go make a move."

But, before he could, the blond was in front of them and she was wondering how he had moved so fast.

"Hi," he said, and his voice was smooth as silk, "I'm Ryan."

"Chad."

Taylor looked back and forth between the two, wondering if she was seeing a very significant moment, not only in Chad's life, but it time. They were so comfortable with each other after having just met. She watched, eyes wide, as the pale man to Chad's hand in his own in a handshake that became a caress as it held.

"Would you like to dance, Chad?"

"Love to."


	4. Chapter 4

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

What was happening to him? Chad took a moment to ponder as the beautiful man he had glimpsed in his mind long before he had seen him walk into the club led him out onto the dance floor by the hand. He had been surprised at how cool the offered hand had been, but the way his heart had pounded and the way his mouth had gone dry had cleared the questions out of his head and he had accepted gladly when Ryan had asked him to dance. He hadn't really had time to tell Taylor, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was something about Ryan that was going to change his life completely. He had glimpsed that much. But still… how could it be that his heart was still in his throat and he was still trying to think of something to say as Ryan tugged him to the middle of the dance floor and set his hands to Chad's hips to encourage him to dance. He was not that guy, Chad mused. He was not that guy who got messed up over any other guy. Admittedly, he was not messed up over Ryan, not really. He had just met him, but Chad was not that guy who fluttered and flirted and couldn't think of anything to say. He was always calm, cool, and collected when it came to everything, but especially relationships. There was no point in being over dramatic and emotional when so much could potentially be on the line. He wondered if Ryan would make him want to be.

_Wait right there, Danforth! _His mind screamed at him. And it was right. He needed to take things slow. Even if, no, especially if Ryan was going to change his life the way he thought his might, he needed to make sure that he kept his wits about him. He believed in what he could do, but he was never going to be destiny's puppet. He would have to make sure that Ryan was who he wanted before he did anything stupid with his heart. Oh, but Ryan could dance.

Chad couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he wrapped an arm around Ryan's waist and pulled the smaller man closer to his body as the graceful blond spun around so that his back was to Chad. They seemed to fit together. It was so easy to move together. Ryan was so much more graceful, but he never made Chad feel like a clod as Chad was sure he could. Two songs passed without them noticing as Ryan turned around and wrapped his arms around Chad's neck. Chad shivered when cool lips touched his neck and pulled away just a little.

Ryan looked up at him, confused, then shrugged and tried to lean in closer again.

"Ryan," Chad murmured, pulling back a little further, "We don't even know each other."

"Does that matter?" Ryan pulled Chad's head toward him and made to kiss him, but Chad pulled back. It was harder than Chad thought it should be. Ryan seemed so slight and small.

"It does to me," He unwrapped Ryan's arms from him and walked back up to the bar. This was the man who was supposed to change his life? He scoffed inwardly. His glimpses had never been wrong before, but there was always a first time for everything.

Suddenly Ryan was seated next to him, looking at him through the mirror on the back of the bar. Neither said anything for a long moment. Chad could see that Ryan was trying to catch his eyes in their reflections, but he couldn't bring himself to match the burning gaze. If he did, he knew that he would lose his resolve. So, he stared at his own reflection, watching Ryan's out of the corner of his eye, waiting.

Ryan was confused. In all his long years, not once had anyone turned him down when he had wanted them. He hadn't been expecting Chad when he had walked into the club. Sharpay had begged him to come with them tonight and he hadn't been able to resist her. It had been nearly seventy years since he had seen his sister and he hadn't realized just how much he had missed her until they had been together again. His sister was spoiled, bitchy a lot of the time, and much too inclined to throw a fit when she didn't get what she wanted. He adored her. He found himself laughing and smiling more than he had in decades as she pulled him from store to store that Troy had paid off to stay open late just for her and insisted that they buy Ryan a whole new wardrobe. She thought he needed to catch up with the times. After all, he was beautiful and eternally young. Suits just didn't work for him the way they worked for Troy.

Troy and Gabriella were more than happy to have him with them as he was making their girl so happy. He knew he would never really be close to Troy, he had too much resentment toward him still to be close, but they got along well enough. Troy made his sister happy, that was all he needed to know. Gabriella was much easier for him to get along with. In fact, they spent long hours deep in discussion or bent over a chess board. He didn't know why it was easier for him to see Gabriella kissing Sharpay, or running her hands through the long blonde hair, but he shrugged it off. Troy, Gabriella, and Sharpay were kind of a package deal. He had learned long ago to accept that. It was easier when he could see just how much the three loved each other and just how happy Sharpay was.

If only to keep a smile on her face, he had agreed to come with them. He wasn't sure it was such a good idea, but he didn't tell them that. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he wanted them to know that clubs were his chosen hunting ground. He was fully fed, it was true, but still instinct was instinct. He had been surprised to find that his sister and her lovers had made a change, as Troy had said. Ryan had never killed his donors, since the night he had been created, but the others hadn't had a problem with it. It was why he had left them to be out on his own the first time, just thirty years into his rebirth. He had left them again at the beginning of the Great Depression for the same reason. But, he was shocked to find that they didn't even hunt anymore. They paid off someone at the hospital and bought the blood they drank. They were more controlled than him now, and it made him a little angry and ashamed of the fact that he did, indeed still hunt. When he'd had that thought earlier in the evening Sharpay had caught it and glared at him.

"Please, you think we'd look down on you for that?" she'd scoffed. And that had been the end of the conversation. But, not the end of his worry.

He'd been so sure that he would be able to resist anything at the club, but he hadn't counted on walking into the crowd and seeing the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on from across the room. The caramel colored skin was beautiful, flawless. The hair, tied back tightly, oh, how he wanted to run his hands through it. His breath had caught when he had looked up and the warm brandy eyes were looking back at him. Suddenly, all he had known was that he wanted the young man at the bar. So, with no thought of hiding, he had gone to him, introduced himself, asked him to dance.

It had all been going so well! Just as he wanted it to go. Chad had been responding perfectly…until he decided it was time to make his move. And Chad had turned him down. Not only turned him down, but walked away from him. His first reaction had been anger. No one turned him down! It just didn't happen. It hadn't happened in all his life or his death. He had quickly gone from anger to amusement. Chad had turned him down when he was obviously as attracted to Ryan as Ryan was to him. It was such a mystery to Ryan and so few humans were that he had decided there might be something there worth pursuing. He could always use Chad for food later. Right now, he was intriguing.

And so Ryan found himself seated at the bar, trying to get Chad to look at him. When Chad stubbornly refused to cooperate, Ryan sighed and did something he hadn't done in a very long time. He apologized.

"Chad, I apologize. So many have reacted to me in so much the same way for so long that I just reacted the same way to you that I have always with them. But, it was wrong of me. You deserve more respect from me than I gave you. Please accept my apology so that perhaps we can start again?" He turned to face Chad then and waited, for once unsure of the reaction he would get.

Finally, after a long moment, Chad turned to him and nodded, "Dinner tomorrow night. Late. I have a game. Nine o'clock at Benji's off of eighth." Then, Chad got up and walked away. Ryan smiled when he heard the pretty young woman who joined Chad on the way out.

"What happened? Are you guys going out? Dish! Jesus, what's the point of having a gay best friend if he won't even talk guys with you?!"

"Ryan," Sharpay was suddenly at his side, "What exactly did I just see?"

"Sharpay," Ryan turned to her and smiled, widely, surprising her, "For the first time in a hundred years, I have a date."


	5. Chapter 5

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

"So, he was rude, made an unwanted pass at you, and you told him to meet you for dinner tonight? Am I missing something here?" Taylor gaped at her best friend as he walked briskly around the corner from the courts where he and a few other guys met weekly to play basketball. Chad had been an amazing player in high school, but had blown out his knee at one of his first college games. It had never quite healed right and he had never played competitively again, but he still enjoyed playing school yard and that in itself got pretty intense at times. Taylor went with him every week to hang out with the girl friends of the players who came to watch their men. Everyone knew that Chad was gay and Taylor was his best friend, but neither of them were ever treated any differently. Truthfully, Chad had used whatever it was that gave him his glimpse to find a group of people who would be accepting and friendly to the two of them. His feelings had been right on. They couldn't have asked for a better group of friends.

Kelsi and Jason Cross were a staple couple at the courts every Saturday night and had become Taylor and Chad's closest friends. They had been dating since they were in junior high school or some other ridiculously young age near that and had married just before coming to college together. Kelsi was studying music; Jason was the only one from the basketball team who stood by Chad after he had blown out his knee. He still came to Chad for advice on his game and they worked out together. It was one of Chad's great pleasures to see how much Jason had improved on the courts thanks to tips Chad had given him. It made Taylor think that perhaps Chad would coach. She and Kelsi liked to sit at the picnic table with the other girls and watch their men while they gossiped and laughed. The most recent topic of conversation was Kelsi's pregnancy and all of the women who were at the courts Saturday nights loved to look at ultrasound pictures and place their hands to Kelsi's growing belly. They were all trying to learn to knit various baby clothes to different degrees of success.

"Really," Kelsi added her soft, gentle voice to Taylor's, "Is she missing something? Because I know I am."

"There's just something about this guy, okay?" Chad tried not to be too impatient with them. They were only trying to look out for him, after all, "I can't explain, but… I need to do this okay? If he acts the way he did last night then it'll be over. But, right now I just need to know, okay?"

"I get what you're saying," Jason nodded amiably, then shrugged when his wife and Taylor turned glares on him, "What? I do. I'm not going to lie. Just be careful, okay, Chad? You depend way too much on that neat little mind thing you can do."

"But, it's never wrong, is it, Kelsi? I wasn't wrong about the twins, was I?"

"Wait. The what?" Jason stopped dead in his tracks, causing his wife to stop too, as their fingers were linked.

Kelsi went red in the face, "Chad! You weren't supposed to say anything! Baby, I was going to tell you when we got home," she murmured, "When I was at my appointment today the doctor found another heartbeat hidden behind the first and the baby had moved so you could see another little head and, Jason, we're having twins!" Her sweet, calm voice had gotten higher and louder until she was practically squealing.

After a moment of blank stares, everything happened at once. Jason swooped Kelsi up in his arms, careful of her growing belly, and spun her around, crowing happily, while Kelsi laughed and kissed him all over his face, Taylor squealed and jumped up and down, and Chad looked extremely pleased with himself.

"This calls for a drink! You guys in?"

"You know it!" Taylor smiled and hugged Kelsi to her, while Chad gave Jason a celebratory hug.

"If this date turns out to be a dud I'll be joining you guys soon," Chad laughed, then looked at his watch, "I'm going to be late as it is. Catch up with you guys later."

With kisses for the girls and another hug for Jason, Chad took off at a jog for the diner he had asked Ryan to meet him at. He had chosen Saturday for a reason. He always felt better, more confident, after a game. Thanks to body spray he smelled just fine, he had pulled his hair back, and he knew hat he looked great because Taylor had helped him choose a hot, casual outfit.. All in all he was feeling really good as he entered the diner and saw Ryan seated in a corner booth. Ryan smiled at him and Chad felt his heart miss a beat. Oh, this wasn't good.

"Hi," Ryan smiled as Chad slid into the booth opposite him. God, if only his heart was still beating, he was sure it would have sped up. Chad was ridiculously appealing in a long sleeve button down rolled up to the elbows and pair of jeans that hugged everything just right. The hair that had been so wild when they had danced was pulled back in a tight tail and Ryan couldn't say which way he liked it better. He couldn't help the fantasy of taking Chad in his arms and kissing up and down his neck before biting in to drink deeply while Chad moaned and moved erotically against him. He shook it out of his head as Chad placed his bag under the table and was smiling again when Chad looked up.

"Hi," Chad's voice was just as appealing as it had been the night before.

Ryan wanted to start the evening off on the right foot, "Chad, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about last night one more time."

"Don't bring it up again," Chad suggested smoothly, "Let's just try and start over, yeah?"

"Sure. So, as long as we're starting again, what's your full name?"

"My full name?" Chad sputtered into his water, then groaned, "That would have to be the first thing that you ask me."

"Why?" Ryan laughed at the look on Chad's face.

"I haven't gone by my full name in years. It's a little embarrassing."

"Tell me." Ryan leaned in and set his chin to his hand. A back part of his mind told him that he was being ridiculous and acting like a teenaged human, but he ignored it. Chad was making him smile more in five minutes that he had in a hundred years, including the time he had been spending with his sister recently.

"You first," Chad laughed and unconsciously leaned in closer as well.

"Ryan Alexander Evans. Your turn."

"Chadwick Issachar Danforth. Don't laugh!"

"I…" Ryan closed his mouth around the laugh that bubbled up around his denial that he was going to laugh at all. Chad rolled his eyes at the way Ryan tried to keep his laughter in.

"Go ahead," he sighed.

To his credit, Ryan only laughed aloud a moment before he gained control over himself and linked his fingers on the table, "Chadwick Issachar? Where did your mother come up with that?"

"She said she read a book when she was a kid and the main character's name was Chadwick. She swore she would always name her son after him."

"And Issachar?"

"He was one of Jacob's sons. I'm just about the smallest minority in the country," Damn Ryan was appealing when he smiled that way. Chad tried not to lose his train of thought, "I'm a gay, black, Jewish guy."

"No," Ryan turned slightly serious before a sly look crossed his face, "I'm in the smallest minority in the country."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes. I'm a natural blond."

Chad burst out laughing, "You win."

"I usually do. Brothers or sisters?"

"Only child. Single mother died when I was twelve. Raised by my best friend's parents."

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago. You?"

"Disowned by my parents when my sexual orientation was discovered. My twin sister came with me. She's always been my best friend and worst enemy," He smiled with such affection that Chad had to resist the urge to cover Ryan's hands with his own. They ordered when the waitress came by, asking Chad if he wanted the usual. She winked at him behind Ryan's back and give him a thumbs up as she was walking away.

"Speaking of your sister," Chad looked Ryan square in the eye, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't lose his nerve to ask this one question that had been on his mind, "Was she the blonde with the… in the… I mean…"

"In the threesome, you mean" Ryan smiled, "Yes, she was. She and Troy and Gabriella have been together a long time. They were just kind of meant, I suppose. Leave it to my Shar to not be able to do anything simply."

They spoke for hours, neither of them noticing the time passing. When they finally realized that it was nearly three o'clock in the morning they still hadn't run out of things to say, but Chad was yawning more and more and Ryan knew that he needed to get some sleep if he was to function the next day.

"Can I see you again tomorrow?" Chad asked as they walked out of the diner together.

"I've been forgiven, then?"

"Yeah, I guess you have."

"Then, yes. I'd love to see you again tomorrow night. Would you mind if we make it late again? I have a full day."

"That would be fine, Ryan. Should I pick you up?"

"No. Let's just meet here."

"Sounds good. Eight?"

"Certainly," Ryan looked up a Chad from under his lashes, "Chad, I'd like to kiss you now if you'll let me."

Chad nodded and smiled. He'd been hoping for the same thing almost all evening. Hadn't been able to take his eyes off of Ryan's lips as he spoke, really. This was the man his glimpse had shown him, the one he could quite possibly fall in love with. Ryan was fascinating, sweet, gentle, and he loved his sister.

"Family always comes first, Chad baby," His mother had instilled that in him from a very young age.

Chad's eyes fluttered closed as he took Ryan in his arms and leaned down to brush their lips together chastely. It set off fireworks behind his eyelids and he deepened the kiss, too lost in it to wonder why Ryan's mouth was so cool on his even though his passion seemed to run hot. All too soon Chad pulled away, knowing that if he didn't he wouldn't.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ryan."

"Good morning, Chad. Sleep well."


	6. Chapter 6

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

**Author's Note: There is a good deal of sexual content in this chapter. If it offends you, please don't read it. Thank you. T.H.**

"You're going to meet that human again?" Ryan couldn't help but smile at the minor disgust Sharpay tried to put into the inflection of her voice. Really, he knew that she was happy for him. He had stayed with her with this past month and a half and had been happier than he had been in nearly two hundred years. Chad had that effect on him. He knew that she knew that and would have been grateful to Chad even if she knew nothing else about him. It had only helped that the couple of times Chad had gone out with them, them being himself, Shar, Gabi, and Troy, he had been charming, funny, a complete gentleman, and they had all liked him very much. Ryan was glad. There was something about Chad that he knew he wanted with and around him for as long as possible. He was almost ready to call it love, but he knew that he couldn't do that until Chad knew everything about him. But, he wasn't quite ready to take the chance that Chad might not be able to accept what he truly was. So, for right now, he was content with the way things were.

"Yes, Shar, I'm going out with Chad again. I think I might let him make love to me tonight."

"Make love, Ryan?" Shar draped herself across his bed. He turned to look at her and couldn't help the smile that came across his face to see his sister, in a dress that probably cost more than what most people spent a year on clothes, her make up and hair immaculately done, pouting on his simple cotton sheets, "That's a little extreme, don't you think? Can't you just call it fucking like anyone else?"

"You know it's not that way with Chad and me, Shar," he sighed. No matter how much she liked Chad, she would always worry for Ryan, but the worry was starting to grate on him a little.

"I know," she frowned and stood with more grace than even most vampires were capable of. She was across the room and against his back, her cheek to his shoulder blade and her arms around his waist in an instant, "I just don't want you to be hurt like with Steven."

"Steven was a long time ago," Ryan covered Shar's hands with one of his own and tried not to wince at the sudden memory that invaded his mind, "Chad's different."

"He is," Sharpay agreed, "Just don't get too attached, yeah? You just…you take it so personally when your mortals die. I like to see you smile, but not at the expense of watching you fall apart for nearly a century after it's over."

"I know." He turned, cupped her face in his hand, "I know. I promise to try, Shar. But, I can't guarantee. There's something about him. It's so much more."

"I know," Sharpay rubbed against his hand like a kitten, thinking that it was times like these that she wished she could still cry. At least she would be able to express to him just how worried she was. But, for now, he was happy. Maybe that was all that mattered. She smiled widely and grabbed his wrist, flipping him over her head. She laughed joyfully when he caught himself mid-toss and launched himself back at her from the bed post. She marveled at his speed as he had his hands around her throat without so much as mussing her dress or hair. He was laughing, she was laughing. He took his hands away from her throat and hugged her to him again.

"Have fun tonight with Chad. I'm sure he'll be wonderful. All those muscles. Big hands." She grinned and pecked his cheek.

"You know I will," Ryan grinned back identically, twirling her out of his embrace "Why are you all dressed up, by the way?"

"Troy's taking us to the opera. Isn't that sweet? La Boheme." He laughed when she stuck a finger down her throat and pretended to gag. Sharpay had never been able to understand Troy and Gabriella's love for opera, but Ryan knew she tolerated it because she loved to get dressed up and Troy and Gabi always made it worth her while if she behaved. They loved to have her on their arms, after all. He had always wondered how she couldn't have at least gained an appreciation for it over the years. He had come to enjoy the sweeping music and stories, the elaborate sets, the beautiful costumes. Not, that he'd ever tell Sharpay that.

"What are you getting out of it this time, Shar?" he arched one eyebrow.

"Gabi promised they'd take me to New York next week." Sharpay giggled, "I get to see a show a night as long as I'm a good girl at the opera tonight," She rolled her eyes, "So, while you're rolling on the sheets with Chad tonight, I'll be bored out of my mind, but that means next week you can bring him here and have sex in your bed without worrying about us being around."

"I know that you can do better than be bored the entire time," Ryan laughed.

"True," Sharpay looked in his mirror and fluffed her hair, "I plan to make them so hot that they drag me out of there by first intermission. But, I'll make tonight so good for them that they'll still take me to New York anyway."

"You're devious, Shar," Ryan smiled, "Go on. Have fun. Tease them out of their minds. I'll be back before dawn."

With a kiss and a final squeeze, Sharpay was out the door, waving her jeweled hand behind her. Ryan smiled and laughed a little. He knew that she was concerned about how deeply he had come to feel for Chad, had felt it in every way she held him or looked at him, but he found he couldn't be concerned at all. The past month and a half had been the best Ryan had ever had in his life or his death. Perhaps death wasn't the right word. He felt more alive now than he had in the entirety of his existence.

There hadn't been a night since the first that Ryan hadn't seen Chad. If they weren't technically together, Ryan was still watching Chad, with Taylor, with Jason, with any number of his friends or when he was just alone in the apartment he and Taylor shared. Ryan liked to know that he was safe. And he loved every little thing he learned about Chad. Chad wasn't perfect. He had a short temper, he wasn't all that open to new things, and he was entirely too stubborn for his own good. But, at the same time he was funny, sweet, and completely loyal to those he cared about. He enjoyed working out, had a bad knee, and loved to watch cheesy sports movies. He had a weakness mint chocolate chip ice cream, hated talking on the phone more than necessary, and when he couldn't sleep he made himself condensed tomato soup and ate it with crackers. Every little thing Ryan learned about Chad just fascinated him more. The most mundane things could make Ryan smile. He was infatuated, he could admit to himself. It was very nearly love. And it was exquisite torture.

If they were together, they were at dinners where Ryan was pretending to eat, at movies that Ryan pretended to watch while he was really just watching Chad's face. He loved to go to the pick-up basketball games that Chad played. Or, if they hadn't planned anything particular, like tonight, they were just talking, laughing together. Ryan had told Chad more than he'd ever told anyone before. And Chad responded in the same manner. Ryan felt that at this point Chad probably knew him better than anyone, save for his sister, but only because his sister knew what he was. And Chad had told him that, save for Taylor, Ryan knew him better than anyone alive.

Of course, there was always the physical side of their relationship, as well. After their third consecutive night together, talking for hours, many of their nights were spent making out while they pretended to watch a movie. It had been a relief when, after his death, Ryan had discovered that his libido was still intact. Not that it would have been a deal breaker, but it was nice to know that there were still some pleasures he would be able to have seeing as he wasn't going to be dying anytime soon or ever, as far as he knew. And with Chad, things were incredible. Chad could make him feel as if he was burning up with a single touch. He was incredibly astute at finding the spots that made Ryan cry out. Just behind his ear, the pads of his fingers, just under his ribs. Ryan, in return, searched out the places that made Chad bite his lip in an effort to keep quiet. The inside of his elbow, his thigh just above his knee, the place where his neck met his shoulder. The irony that Chad liked to be kissed and nipped in the exact location Ryan would feed on if it were anyone else was not lost on him. But, he tried not to think of it, especially when he and Chad were on the couch, Chad on top of him, holding each other close as they moved their hips frantically so that the friction would be great enough to allow them to finish. Tonight felt right. Tonight he would make love with Chad for the first time. Maybe the last time as well, because he knew that if Chad asked him the right questions, he would tell him everything.

He was still resolved that it would be this night when he knocked on the door to Chad's apartment. One look in Chad's eyes and he knew that Chad had decided the same. He wasn't even able to ask if Taylor was out of the apartment before Chad had pulled him through the door, slammed it, and pushed him against it roughly. Ryan could only moan in appreciation when Chad was suddenly against him, hands buried in his hair, kissing him for all he was worth. Ryan could only moan and wrap his arms around Chad, careful to make sure that he wasn't holding too tight, and lose himself in the feel of Chad against him, the feel of Chad's tongue as it explored every crevice of his mouth, the feel of Chad's rising arousal against his thigh. He moaned and pulled away from the kiss to attach himself to Chad's neck just where he liked it. Even if he wouldn't bite it never hurt to pretend. He sucked harshly and felt immensely satisfied as Chad's knees gave a little before he got control of himself enough to swoop Ryan up in his arms and walk toward the bedroom.

"Ryan," Chad panted as he set Ryan to the floor, "Maybe we should slow things down a little." Ryan could tell he was just trying to be gentlemanly because Chad cried out and arched his back a little when Ryan ran his fingers gently over Chad's nipples before ripping the button down open. Ryan knew what he needed, what he wanted.

"No," he hissed as he fell to his knees, taking Chad's jeans and boxer briefs down to the floor, "Now. Right now. Fast and hard. Worry later."

Chad cried out again and set his hand to the back of Ryan's head when Ryan took him in his mouth. Ryan had always wondered why it was that Chad was not affected by the fact that his body temperature was so low, but decided to be grateful that his lover had never seemed to notice. He was certainly not complaining now. Chad arched his back, threw back his head, and moaned as Ryan continued to work him in his mouth, alternating between licking and sucking, teasing the head and deep-throating. He could feel when Chad was close and pulled back, knowing Chad would want to be inside of him when he came. Or maybe he just wanted Chad inside of him when he came. It didn't matter. He rid himself of his clothes and was on the bed, on all fours, as quickly as he could be while still appearing human. Just the idea of Chad being inside of him had gotten him hot and he couldn't help but stroke himself as he moaned wantonly and looked back at Chad with an invitation in his eyes.

"Baby, you are so hot," Chad murmured, lost in the beauty that was a naked Ryan stroking himself on the bed that had been Chad's first purchase when he moved into the apartment with Taylor. It was a fancifully curved metal frame currently covered in a midnight blue Egyptian cotton comforter. Just seeing Ryan on it made him think of nights in some location far more exotic than his apartment. Ryan just seemed to belong somewhere other worldly, a place full of grace and beauty. He shook his head to rid it of the fanciful thoughts that he hadn't been prone to until he had begun seeing Ryan and took a moment to thank whatever god was listening that he had changed the sheets only that morning.

"I want you inside me, Chad," Ryan moaned, then gasped when he pulled particularly rough on himself and had to list the names of the presidents since he had been changed to stave off his orgasm. Chad didn't have to be told twice. He was at Ryan's side in an instant.

"Don't you want me to, you know, return the favor?"

"Maybe later," Ryan smiled at him, and Chad knew that he had appreciated the offer, "Right now, I've wanted this for so long, I just need you inside me. I'm close already. Please, Chad?" He ended on a whimper and Chad reached down to replace Ryan's hand with his own. Ryan gasped and bucked a little to feel Chad's hand, warm as a branding iron, on him.

"Whatever you say, baby."

"Yes," Ryan hissed as the first finger worked itself into his opening. He didn't know when Chad had gotten out lube, when he had worked it onto his fingers. All he could care about was the fact that Chad had begun to open and stretch him and that soon Chad would be inside of him. He very nearly came just at the idea.

"Not so fast," Chad whispered, hot in his ear, circling Ryan with painfully strong fingers, keeping his orgasm at bay, "I'll be inside you when you come."

"Please, Chad. Now!" Ryan whimpered.

"Soon," Chad placed a kiss to Ryan's back and slipped another finger in. He scissored for a moment, then crooked his fingers, searching.

"Chad!" Ryan cried out when Chad hit the spot inside him that made him see stars, "I need you in me now!"

"Want to be inside you," Chad growled in return before pressing himself to Ryan. Always the gentleman, Ryan noticed he waited for permission to enter. He looked back at Chad and nodded. Chad buried himself in Ryan in one thrust and couldn't help the moan that escaped him when Ryan screamed.

"Yes, Chad! More!" He wasn't surprised that Ryan was a talker in bed.

"You're so tight, baby," he grunted, kissing Ryan's shoulder again.

"Chad, I'm…I'm going to…"

"I know," Chad grunted and strained with the effort to keep his thrusts into Ryan's willing entrance steady, "Me, too. Wanted you for so long, Ryan!"

Once Chad's hand was around him, along with the burning shaft buried inside of him that kept striking him just so Ryan knew it was all over. A back corner of his mind was a bit ashamed that he hadn't been able to last longer. But, another part of him was thrilled. Chad made him feel like a human teenager again, like he couldn't hold off because he needed Chad so very much. Ryan could tell Chad was close as well by the way his thrusts became frantic and without rhythm. So, he closed his eyes and, with a final cry of Chad's name, allowed himself to let go, giving into the pleasure that whitened his vision and made his body go stiff.

"Ryan!" Chad felt the whisper torn straight from his soul as Ryan came in his arms. His own orgasm tore through him and he collapsed on Ryan, sending them both to the bed. They laid quiet for a moment and Chad caught his breath before he rolled over and took Ryan in his arms.

"I wanted to make love tonight," Ryan placed a kiss to Chad's chest, just over his beating heart, "Guess we'll have to save that for another time."

"Or just later tonight," Chad stroked Ryan's back gently. They both laughed.

"You made me feel like a teenager again, Chad," Ryan linked his fingers over Chad's heart and looked him in the eye, smiling, "It was wonderful. I felt like nothing could wait and everything was so much more intense because of it. Thank you."

He leaned in to kiss Chad, closing his eyes and allowing the rush of warmth and love, he could admit it now, to wash over him as the kiss deepened lazily. When the kiss ended gently, slowly, Ryan laid his head back on Chad's chest and sighed deeply.

"Thank you," Chad murmured, "I felt the same way. It was the best, in fact. Only, it was cool inside you. I didn't expect that. I've never felt anything like it before."

_Ask me, Chad._ Ryan begged in his mind. _Please, just ask me and I'll tell you._

But, when Chad didn't say anything more, he just volunteered, "My body temperature is lower than usual. Has been for a long time."

They laid in the quiet for a few long minutes, simply taking each other in. Chad rested his hands on the small of Ryan's back while Ryan traced the muscles of Chad's arm. They both had the same idea on their minds, but neither of them wanted to be the first one to say it. In the end, it was Chad who gave.

"Ryan?"

"Hmm?"

"I think…I know…I'm nearly in love with you, Ryan." His voice was soft and he stroked Ryan's hair, terrified that Ryan didn't return his feelings. He was terrified that he had moved too fast. Of his previous relationships, granted there weren't many of them, only one had lasted longer than a few months and he'd never said he loved Josef. Though, Josef was the closest he had ever come to love before Ryan. He and Ryan hadn't been together very long at all. Six weeks. And they'd never said that they were exclusive to each other at all. What if he had gone too fast? What if Ryan didn't feel for him the same way he felt for Ryan? His thoughts began to flood, making him want to scream and grab his hair, but he resisted.

"Chad," his heart skipped a beat when Ryan looked at him, a smile on his face, "I'm nearly in love with you, too." Chad smiled into the passionate kiss that Ryan pressed to his lips and rolled them over, laughing. After a quick make-out session he propped himself up on his elbows, smiling down at Ryan.

"You know what I want to do now?"

"What?" Ryan kissed his neck and he nearly lost his train of thought.

"I want to walk down to the corner store, holding your hand. I want to buy some ice cream and bring it back here to eat it with you in bed. How's that sound?"

"Sounds great." Ryan was so happy he would have agreed to walk down to the corner store naked to buy frog legs if Chad had suggested it.

It took them quite a while to get themselves cleaned up and their clothes back on, but they couldn't have been more comfortable or happy as they walked down the street, hand in hand, just as Chad had wanted to. Ryan had fantasies as they were walking of feeding on those who glared at them as they passed and wished that he had taken the time to feed. The thirst burning in the back of his throat was becoming overwhelming. It was only Chad's happiness that kept him from doing so. They didn't matter anyway, not when his lover was at his side and didn't see their glares. The lady at the corner store seemed to know Chad and smiled at him, happy for him, when he walked in with Ryan. Ryan smiled winningly back at her. It amazed him how Chad's moods, Chad's friends, could affect him so. He knew without thinking about it that Jason, Kelsi, Taylor, and any children they might have would always be under his protection. But, those who made Chad unhappy, like some of his former teammates, Ryan would not want to meet in a back alley or he might not be able to control himself. He had hoped since the day that he had met Chad that he would never have to test his control, but it seemed like fate was against him.

He heard the men in his head before he saw them.

_Fuckin' fags…_

_Should all burn in Hell…_

_Teach 'em a lesson…_

It was nothing he hadn't heard before, of course. He'd been alive at a time when simply looking at a man the wrong way was enough to get you shot on sight. But, it was different now. Now he had the means to fight back and someone else to protect.

Chad was confused when Ryan suddenly pushed him violently against a wall as they were walking toward his apartment. He braced himself for impact, knowing that his head would hit the hard bricks, but it never came. Faster than Chad thought humanly possible Ryan's hand cradled his head against the brick so that the impact didn't even hurt.

"Ryan?" Chad asked, confused.

"Stay behind me, Chad." Ryan's voice was a low growl that Chad hadn't even thought him capable of making.

It was then that Chad saw them coming from down the street. He didn't know them, had never seen them, but he knew their kind and he knew what they wanted. He also knew plenty about what they were capable of. He wasn't naïve enough to believe that just because he had family and a circle of friends who accepted him for who he was that the rest of the world did so. But, what could Ryan do? He was so slight and small? He weighed so little. When Chad had picked him up this evening he had been surprised at just how light Ryan was. No, Chad should be the one protecting Ryan, not the other way around.

"Ryan," Chad tried to step forward and push Ryan behind him, but Ryan could not be moved.

"Chad." Suddenly his voice was soft, like it had been when they were laying in bed together. He turned around and Chad saw something in his eye, something he couldn't explain. He took a step back and pressed himself up against the wall. It was as if someone else had made the decision to let Ryan handle it for him. "Please, trust me."

"I trust you," he found himself murmuring, not quite sure why he was saying it when all he really wanted to do was stand by Ryan's side.

He saw the fight as if he was watching a dream. Ryan was a creature of pure grace and deadly force. Before Chad knew what had happened Ryan had disabled two of their three would-be attackers. Chad felt his heart begin to pound and his throat begin to close as he watched Ryan take the third assailant in his arms in a bastardized mockery of an embrace and attack his neck. Chad watched as the man twitched and finally fell still in Ryan's arms. When Ryan turned around, there was blood down the front of his shirt and on his chin. He was just wiping it away with his shirtsleeve.

"Chad…" His voice was gentle as he came toward Chad.

But, Chad allowed his mind to go blank and his instincts to take over. He dropped the bag that held the ice cream and he ran.

**Author's Note: I know the fight scene went really fast. It will be described it greater detail from Ryan's point of view in the next chapter. Please drop a review if you have time. Thanks, T.H.**


	7. Chapter 7

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

"Ryan…please…it's been three days. Tell me what happened." Sharpay slipped into the bed where her brother had been laying, not speaking, not drinking, not sleeping for three days. She had even put off her promised trip to New York, surprising Troy and Gabriella with her concern, to try to find out what was causing her brother such distress. They loved Sharpay more than life, but to say she was a spoiled, selfish, bitch was an understatement most of the time. They had failed to realize that, because of their long separation and the situation that had caused Ryan to leave them the last time he'd gone, Sharpay was, at least at the moment, more concerned with Ryan's happiness than her own. She wrapped him in her arms like their human mother used to when they had been children and had nightmares. It had always comforted him, even now so far into their new life, but this time it seemed to have no effect. He remained stiff in her arms. She sighed and was about to leave when his voice, small and sounding so young, finally reached her like she had been hoping it would for three nights running.

"We were getting ice cream," He murmured, "We were so happy. He told me… after…that he was nearly in love with me. And I told him the same thing. I would have told him everything if he had asked, but he didn't. He just said he wanted to get ice cream and eat it in bed with me. So we went to the store. On the way out I got three distinct voices in my head. Same old, same old. They wanted to teach Chad and me a lesson for daring to hold hands in public. I pushed Chad behind me, told him to stay, pushed his mind a little to obey me. It was harder than I thought it would be. He has a strong mind. Then, they came at me."

He could still see it in his mind. With Chad safe against the wall he had allowed himself to let go a little. The three men who approached him reeked of unwashed bodies and beer. Just three "good old boys" probably just off from a twelve hour work day and a two hour beer guzzle in some seedy bar. Usually he was able to ignore their type. But, that night he had been more than a little thirsty and more than a little angry, taking their remarks as a personal attack on Chad, the man he loved. They would pay for that alone if nothing else.

The first, stocky, a little overweight but heavily muscled below the fat, had charged without pretense, without a word. Ryan had decided to have a little fun. He was riled anyway, why not let it play out a little? He just tossed the guy to the side, grinning to hear him run into a street lamp. From the satisfying crunch of bone he knew the connection of nose and metal had broken it. It made him laugh. The two other men had come at him at the same time, screaming with their rage. He had just laughed harder, breaking one's arm and leap-frogging, kicking out just as he came down. The air had escaped the man's lungs with a satisfying, low grunt and he had doubled over. A glance at Chad had Ryan thinking that perhaps it was time to finish up. Chad looked scared. Ryan hadn't wanted to scare him. A knee to the head of the man he had just kicked put him out. A harsh punch to the gut of the man with the broken arm had laid him out just as easily. They'd wake up in a bit, hurting, needing to go to the hospital, but very much alive. Ryan hadn't killed a man in nearly two hundred years.

"But, I was so thirsty," Ryan whispered as Sharpay continued to stroke his hair comfortingly, "I should never have taken the chance of going to see Chad when I was that thirsty, but all I could think about was being with him. When the other guy came toward me with his nose broken…"

The scent of the blood was strong and metallic in the back of his throat. His throat was burning. As the man had rushed at him, blood still pouring out of his nose, Ryan had stopped thinking and acted on instinct. He had caught the charging man in his arms, knelt on the ground, swept the too long hair back from the dirty neck and sunk his teeth in. The first taste of blood had made him groan in appreciation and he knew his bite was having the same effect on this man as it did on others. His body jerked, he groaned, half in pain, half in arousal. He came in his pants before his body began to go weak, before Ryan took too much. But, he had. He hadn't been able to stop himself, even though he had trained himself so thoroughly, garnered more self control than he had ever thought possible those first thirty years. Perhaps it was the thirst, perhaps it was the adrenaline of the fight, perhaps it was that he had lost his careful control while in bed with Chad and had not yet bothered to make sure he had put it back in the places it belonged, but he had taken the man's life. He had gone peacefully, Ryan knew, but it didn't make things easier. He stood, disgusted with himself. The man's blood was on his shirt, down his chin. Ryan hadn't been so messy with a meal in decades. His heart already breaking, needing Chad's comfort, he had turned to him, wiping the blood from his chin, and held out a hand to him.

Then, he had seen Chad's eyes. His lover was terrified of him. He had pressed himself to the brick as if it would be possible to disappear into it. Ryan felt Chad's fear invade his mind. No words to describe it, just a haze and mask of terrified color, white, blank. What had he done? He looked at his hands, wished he still had the ability to be physically ill to find some relief from the tension in his chest, in his abdomen, and reached for Chad, calling his name once, gently. In his mind Chad came to him, still terrified, but willing to let Ryan explain, willing to give it a try, to forgive. In reality, Chad just kept looking at him as if Ryan would attack him as he had the men who had come at them, the men who hadn't been able to defend themselves against something that didn't belong in this world. Ryan got a picture from Chad's mind, just one. Ryan smiling viciously as he held a very lifeless Chad in his arms, blood on his lips and on Chad's neck. And Chad only felt fear toward him any longer. Ryan hadn't even been able to move when Chad bolted, falling to his knees with his grief.

"I got rid of the body," Ryan's voice was full of tears he could not shed as Sharpay rocked him, "I had to protect you. You and Gabriella and Troy have made a life here. I couldn't put that in jeopardy. I came here. The way he looked at me, Shar. He was terrified of me. He wasn't seeing me anymore. He was seeing a monster."

"Ryan, you aren't a mon…"

"He was right, Sharpay!" Ryan pulled out of her arms and walked to the window in his room, his arms clutched around his midsection as if to hold himself together. He couldn't cry, it wasn't physically possibly for their kind, but he might have well have been screaming, sobbing, for the breaking of his heart that she felt, "I am a monster! I couldn't stop. And because I couldn't stop a man is dead and the man I love will hate me and the rest of our kind for the rest of his life!"

"Ryan." Sharpay tried to go to him, but the dead look in his eyes stopped her.

"I've been hated before, Sharpay. As a man and as a vampire. But, never by someone I loved. I've loved humans before, too. But there was something about Chad. I've waited my whole life, my whole death, to find someone like him, and I could very possibly kill him. If I have no control when it comes to someone I see once, how will I be with someone I spend every night with? I don't deserve him. I don't deserve…"

"Ryan," she stretched out her arm to him, wanting to touch, suddenly scared for him, "You wouldn't…" She couldn't say the words, but they both knew what she was thinking.

Commit suicide. Stay out when the sun rises.

"I won't go out into the sun, Shar," he laughed weakly, "I can promise you that."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't deserve something that quick."

"Ryan?"

"Go drink, Shar. You look thirsty."

"Come drink with me," she almost begged, finally seeing, finally understanding.

He smiled once, harshly, "No."

* * *

It had taken him two weeks to work up to this moment. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, dialed in the number, and waited while it rang. Chad tried not to hyperventilate. The past two weeks had been Hell. He had spent the night it had happened trying to convince himself that what he had seen, Ryan's brutal fight and the murder of the man attacking him, them, hadn't happened at all. He had run for close to an hour, trying to convince himself that this was all just a bad dream brought on by eating ice cream too late in the night, that he would wake up with the sun, arms around Ryan, and they would make love in the shower before he went to classes and Ryan went to do whatever it was he did during the day. But, when he had gotten home the sheets had still smelled like Ryan and it was undeniably still night.

The terror had come back full force then as he remembered the look in the man's eyes as Ryan attacked his throat. Chad had watched those eyes go dead. He had stripped his clothes off haphazardly as he stumbled toward the bathroom and fell into the tub, turning the shower on so that the water poured over him nearly hot enough to burn. Still, he had shivered, rocking back and forth. Taylor had found him three hours later, still rocking, mumbling unintelligibly. She had gotten him into his pajamas, tried to ask him what happened, but the evening had been too much for him and he had fallen asleep before she could say anything.

He'd spent the next four days in bed, trying to come to grips with what he had seen. Ryan had killed a man, had been drinking his blood. But, those men had attacked first. Chad had known what they had wanted to do. He wasn't stupid. If Ryan hadn't stepped up, if Ryan hadn't been able to do what he did, they both would have been hurt, maybe killed. The men hadn't been small, and they hadn't been weak. Which meant that Ryan had to be insanely strong. That was when Chad had begun to think, really think. He never saw Ryan when the sun was up, no matter how many times he invited him to picnic, to take a boat out on the pond in the park. Ryan always claimed that he had a full day, never explaining what he had to do. But, Chad had never asked, either. Ryan's skin was always cool to the touch, it had been cool inside of him when they made love. Chad had seen him eat or so he thought, but that didn't mean anything.

The next two days had been spent so deep in research, on the internet, in the library, that he hadn't even noticed when Taylor had tried to get his attention, tried to get him to talk to her. She had been so scared by the way he was acting, not speaking, hardly eating, that she had called her parents, their parents really, and told them that she thought Chad needed help and she didn't know what to do.

"Chad, I called Mom and Pop. They'll be here in the morning." She had told him, not expecting a response. But, it had finally woken him up.

"What?"

"Oh, thank God!" Taylor had thrown her arms around him, "I was so scared."

"I'm sorry, Tay. I've been trying to find out… It…it doesn't matter. Ryan…he's…and that night…" He hadn't been able to say just then what he was thinking, what had happened. The latter scared him too much, still. The former made him think he was insane. So, he had gone with the mild annoyance what she had done caused, "You just had to call Mom and Pop, didn't you?"

"Chad, you haven't spoken to me for six days! Count them, six! I thought you were coked out or you'd been raped or something! You were scaring me! I needed Mom and Pop and I think you need them, too! If you can't talk to me will you at least talk to them?"

He hadn't been able to resist it when Julia McKessie had taken him in her arms and Thomas McKessie had rubbed his back. All of the fear, all of the pain, had come pouring out. He had collapsed in their arms, sobbing, wishing like hell his mother was there to hold him even though two of the people he loved best in the world had flown across the country to make sure he was alright. But, he wasn't alright. He could admit that when his parents and his sister were holding him. It all came out in spurts and starts, how he had met Ryan, their courtship, sleeping with him just the once. He told them how he had been so happy, how Ryan had almost said he loved him, just as he almost told Ryan the same. When he described the fight, he left out the part where Ryan had killed the man by sucking his blood. He knew that it would sound insane. He still wasn't quite sure he believed it yet himself. He told them how he had allowed himself to run from Ryan, terrified of what he was capable of.

"Alright, baby," Julia had rubbed his back, "What you did makes sense. Anyone would be scared to see someone they thought they knew do something like that. The fact that it was so violent when you had never thought Ryan capable of such a thing probably just made it worse. But, the fact that Ryan scared you isn't the real problem, is it? I think your real problem now is deciding what to do. I think you're worried that Ryan will take your running away as rejection. I don't think you're nearly in love with him, sweetheart. I've seen you nearly in love before. I think you love Ryan and that scares you. I think you're afraid he won't take you back after you ran from him and that scares you more."

Chad had wondered then if it was just Julia who was so astute when it came to the children she'd raised or, if perhaps, it was all mothers. Julia and Thomas had stayed two days, just long enough to make sure Chad was back to eating and talking regularly, and then they'd gone home. It had taken Chad nearly a week more to work through everything he was feeling, everything he had discovered. He was in love with a vampire. He could accept that. Ryan had killed a man by drinking his blood. That was harder, but Chad rationalized it by thinking that the man would have killed them both if he'd had the chance. He wanted Ryan back. That was the easiest thing to decide.

Chad felt ashamed now of how he had acted. Of course he had been shocked and he had been more terrified than he had ever been in his life, but he had run away like a scared boy. Ryan probably thought he was a coward of the worst kind and that idea still made him a little sick to his stomach. He never wanted Ryan to think he was a coward just as he was sure that Ryan had never wanted Chad to think he was a monster. As he had thought about it more he had come to realize that he knew Ryan well enough to know that the look in his eyes after he had killed that man had been grief and regret. He had reached out for Chad, needing comfort. Chad knew now that he hadn't wanted to kill the man, that he had lost control. Ryan had looked so disgusted with himself as he wiped the blood away from his mouth, but all Chad had seen was the blood. How could Ryan not take what he had done as rejection when he had reached out to Chad for comfort and Chad had run away? His fear that Ryan wouldn't take him back, that he had hurt him too badly, kept him from calling.

Not a little of what was keeping him from calling was pride as well, he had to admit. Ryan hadn't trusted him enough to share his secrets. He had kept something from Chad that could have broken their relationship. When had Ryan been planning to tell him? When they decided to move in together? His anger carried him for two days. When he realized the fact that he was dating a creature that he had always thought mere fantasy no longer bothered him and that it was the fact that Ryan had kept his nature from him that had Chad so angry and confused he knew it was time to call Ryan and beg him to take him back.

He was still waiting for Ryan to pick up his phone, heating up his dinner in the microwave and looking out at the bright city lights, when he was suddenly slammed against the wall of his apartment. Unlike the last time he had been slammed against a wall, there was no hand to prevent his head from striking. Instead, his head snapped back and struck the wall hard, making his vision go momentarily blurry. A hand wrapped around his neck and lifted him from his feet. He instinctively grabbed at the hand around his neck and tried to pull it away, struggling to breathe through the small amount of space the strong hand allowed him for air. As his vision cleared he realized the one who had him trapped against the wall was Ryan's sister.

Sharpay was a beautiful woman of slight build, he knew that. But, with her eyes flashing with rage and her hair a mess as if she had been pulling at it, she terrified him. She growled at him, flashing teeth that looked sharp, despite the fact that they didn't have the fangs he associated with vampire lore.

"Sharpay," he wheezed.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you right now," She snarled in return.

He took only a moment to think, then tried the only thing he could think of, "I'm in love with your brother."

She pressed her hand more strongly against his throat, cutting off all air, "You ran away from him. You made him think he disgusted you!"

"I…" he used the last of the air in his lungs to force the words out, "I made a mistake."

"What?" She dropped him to the floor just before he passed out and waited until his coughing had died down to wheezing, "What did you say, Chadwick?"

"I made a mistake," he repeated, "I was scared. I didn't think. I was just calling Ryan. I was going to beg him to take me back." There was no use to stand on pride with an angry vampire in his apartment.

"You're telling the truth." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes," he answered anyway, "What's wrong, Sharpay? Has something happened to Ryan?" Why else would she be so angry with him?

"Chad," she took his hand in a surprisingly gentle grip, "You broke his heart. He thinks he disgusts you. He hasn't fed since that night. He's starving himself. Nothing we do gets him to drink."

"Shar," Chad was frantic. A world without Ryan was unthinkable. He would never be able to live with himself if Ryan died because he thought Chad didn't love him. He had to get to Ryan, it was all he knew. Ryan had to live, even if Chad had hurt him too badly to be taken back, he had to know that somewhere Ryan was alive, "You have to take me to him!"

"Come with me," She grabbed him and placed him on her back without a second thought. Chad tried not to be surprised, "Close your eyes if you have a weak stomach. We're going to be moving fast and if you throw up on me I'll kill you, no matter how much Ryan loves you."


	8. Chapter 8

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

"Ryan, please," Gabriella was not a woman given to begging, but she couldn't keep the pleading tone out of her voice as she lifted Ryan's head and placed the goblet to his lips. He kept them stubbornly closed against the glass and she had to resist the urge to scream and throw it against the wall. Ryan would not die simply by refusing to feed for two weeks. It was not possible. If he continued to refuse to feed he would slip into a period of hibernation, not to be awoken until he was ready and willing to feed again. But, he would not choose to feed again if they couldn't make him realize the destructive path of his thoughts was not true. If he slipped into a never-ending hibernation it would be as if he had died anyway. And with Sharpay's current mental state if Ryan went into hibernation they would lose her as well. While Gabriella was concerned for Ryan himself, her main concern was for Sharpay. As was Troy's.

Even as she tried to get blood down Ryan's throat Troy sat on the bed, stroking Ryan's hair, murmuring to him in a voice very much like Chad's. He had spent the last three nights mimicking Chad, telling Ryan that he was not a monster, that running away had been a mistake. They had hoped that Ryan would be weak enough, unaware enough that Troy's considerable skill at mimicry would work and he would drink for them, but so far it hadn't been effective, though they kept trying. Ryan was so weak, he hadn't opened his eyes is two nights. He had just given up and they knew it. Sharpay had torn out of their place an hour ago, furious, denying what was happening to Ryan. They were both hoping fervently that she hadn't gone to kill Chad for what he had done. Chad was innocent of any wrong and also the only way Ryan would come back to them, but when Sharpay was angry she didn't even think. She would kill him without thinking about the fact that he was the only person who could bring Ryan back to them.

"Please, Sharpay," Gabriella whispered as she stroked Ryan's brow, wanting to soothe him, wanting him to see that there were some who cared about him and would hurt if he went away from them again so soon, "Please, think for once."

"Who says I don't think?" Sharpay's voice was sharp as she appeared in the doorway, hand on her hip.

"Where did you go, darling?" Troy asked, standing and crossing to her even as Gabriella smiled at her gently, not leaving Ryan's side. When their girl killed for the pleasure of it, granted she hadn't done that in nearly fifty years but when she did, she always came back to them covered in blood. She was perfectly clean now and purred as Troy took her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly.

"Ryan," Sharpay whispered gently when Troy turned to smell who was coming up the stairs. Troy grinned at Gabriella and Gabriella smiled back. Their girl had done it for her brother. They were proud of her. She would be rewarded later when they were sure that Ryan was out of the woods.

"Ryan, I've brought someone to see you," she kissed his brow and stroked his hair, smiling when he opened his eyes as his sensitive nose caught who was in the doorway.

"No," Ryan murmured, the first thing he'd said in over a week. She had to fight not to wince at how weak his voice sounded, "Sharpay, you can't bring him in here. What if I can't resist? What if I hurt him?"

"You won't hurt me, Ryan," Sharpay and Gabriella stood as Chad approached the bed, grief and guilt on his face. He sat and took one of Ryan's hands in both of his own. Ryan turned his face away, "Ryan, please look at me."

"I scare you."

"Sometimes," Chad admitted honestly, "There will be times you scare me, Ryan. You're so strong and you have to drink blood to survive. That would scare anyone."

"How can you stand to look at me? I'm disgusting." There was no life in Ryan's voice and that scared them all, but they looked at Chad when he took Ryan's chin in his hand and forced the blond to look at him.

"Ryan, you are not disgusting! Nothing you do, nothing you are is disgusting! I ran away because I was scared. I stayed away because of my pride. But, you never disgusted me and you never will."

"And the fact that I have to drink blood to survive?" Ryan's voice was so weak, Chad wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to speak much less how much longer he could survive without feeding. That fact made Chad's heart constrict and he rolled up the sleeve to his shirt, offering Ryan his wrist by setting it just against Ryan's lips.

"It doesn't matter to me how you have to survive, Ryan," he whispered, "As long as you're with me. I love you. Now, please, please drink."

"What if I lose control with you, Chad?" Ryan closed his eyes and turned his face away again, pushing Chad's wrist away, "I could kill you. I won't take that chance."

"It's not your chance to take!" Chad cried out desperately and laid next to him, wrapping one arm around Ryan's waist, and setting the other to his lips again, "You won't lose control with me, Ryan. I trust you. I love you. Please, Ryan. Please drink."

"You…" Ryan's voice hitched around the emotion in his throat, "You really mean it, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Chad fought to keep the hysterical laughter that was bubbling up inside of himself down, "Ryan, I am pissed as hell that you kept something this big from me. I'm a little nervous knowing that there are four people in this house right now that could break me in half without thinking about it, two of them female. And I've decided that none of that shit matters because what matters is you and me and me wanting you for as long as possible, okay? Now will you just bite me and drink my blood? Because no matter how much saying something like that freaks me out I'm not losing you when I just got you. I've never said it to anyone romantically and I've already said it to you twice, but I'll say it one more time. I love you, Ryan Evans. Drink. Now."

Ryan's eyes flashed with what could have been amusement or annoyance when he looked up and Chad was grinning down at him, "You're going to annoy the hell out of me for the rest of your life, aren't you?" His voice was weak, but the humor in it could not be denied.

"That's the plan."

"Good," he placed a kiss to the offered wrist, "I love you, Chad."

The others breathed a sigh of relief when Ryan bit into Chad's wrist and began to drink while Chad rubbed his hand in slow circles on Ryan's belly. Chad looked so happy, they were glad. They knew it couldn't be easy for him to concentrate on making sure Ryan was fed and not what was happening to his own body. They knew the sexual jolt that their victims felt when they bit them, but Chad was ignoring it to concentrate on Ryan. Sharpay moved toward Troy and Gabriella and fell into Gabi's arms, burying her face in the juncture between Gabi's shoulder and her neck and breathing her scent in deep in relief. Troy moved to her back and wrapped his arms around both of his girls. Gabriella was whispering in an ancient Spanish dialect, her birth language. Neither Troy nor Sharpay had ever bothered to learn it. They liked to hear her speak it without knowing what she was saying. They found it hot. But, Troy had heard it enough to know that she was sending up a prayer of thanks and was so relieved himself that he didn't even bother to wonder how she could still believe in God. She was one of the few vampires who did. They all turned back to the couple on the bed when Chad began to speak again.

"That's it, Ryan," Chad murmured, feeling a little sleepy, "Take all you need. Please. Whatever you need." But, Ryan had stopped drinking. He kissed Chad's wrist one more time and pushed it away. As if on some unspoken cue, Troy and Sharpay were at the bed, helping Ryan to sit up while Gabriella helped Chad out of the bed.

"You can't give him all he needs right now, Chadwick," Gabriella said gently, "It would kill you. But, look, everything will be alright now. Sharpay and Troy are already getting him to drink more." Chad turned to see that what she said was true. Troy was supporting Ryan while Sharpay set a crystal goblet to his lips. Ryan's eyes were closed, but he was drinking steadily. Gabriella pulled lightly on Chad's arm, "Come. Let's clean you up."

"Is this too hard for you?" Chad asked when Gabriella had him seated on the toilet and was doctoring his still bleeding wrist. He briefly wondered why they even had such things as gauze and antiseptic in a house of vampires, but decided not to ask. "I can always do it myself."

"No," Gabriella smiled gently, her voice soft, "It's never been hard for me to control myself when it comes to Ryan's human lovers."

Chad stiffened despite his best efforts to the contrary and failed to keep the sharp tone out of his voice, "And how many have there been?"

Gabriella said in a voice very like a lecturing teacher, "Don't be jealous, Chadwick." She giggled when she began to clean the wound and he hissed at the slight pain, "Don't be a baby."

"Hello? Human? I think that naturally makes me less tolerant to pain." Chad scoffed, then laughed along when Gabriella threw her head back and laughed long and loud. It took them both a moment to gain control of themselves again as their laughter was more from relief and the release of emotion than it was from actual humor.

"Oh, you will be so good for him, Chad," Gabriella couldn't resist planting a quick, firm kiss to his mouth that had nothing to do with attraction and all to do with the thankfulness she was feeling in her heart, "I will tell you three things now that you need to know. Anything else you will have to learn from Ryan himself. Agreed?"

He nodded, not trusting his voice, shocked from the kiss and a little nervous as to what she was going to tell him.

"One: Ryan did not choose this life. He was turned against his will. Two: He loathes what he is almost to the core of his being. It is why he fell apart so quickly after he killed that man. Ryan hasn't killed anyone for nearly two hundred years."

"He must have been feeling so guilty already and I ran away from him." Chad had felt the guilt well up again as she spoke and couldn't look her. He put his face in his hands. Why the hell had he let his pride get in the way as long as it had? "Jesus. I'll spend the rest of my life trying and I'll still never make it up to him."

"And three:" Gabriella lifted his chin and smiled at him again, "Ryan has had numerous lovers since he was turned, but only three loves. And neither of the others meant what you mean to him. Do not feel guilty for what had past, Chadwick. Move forward. It is what you need and what Ryan wants most now. Trust me."

"I do." He was surprised to find that he truly did.

"Good. There you are," she secured gauze around his wrist, "Good as new. Why don't you go to Ryan now? I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."

Chad was surprised how very shy he felt as he walked back to Ryan's room and waited in the doorway as Troy and Sharpay watched over the vampire he had fallen in love with. He was glad his mind wasn't even pausing at the word anymore as he observed Ryan and his sister. He was able to sit up by himself now and was holding the goblet on his own, though Sharpay was still hovering anxiously. Troy was just standing a little distant from the bed, his arms crossed, a satisfied smirk on his face. All three of them turned to look at him at the same time and he couldn't help that his breath hitched in surprise. How hard must it be for them to appear human? He had never suspected until that night that they were anything other than human but he couldn't believe now that he hadn't seen it. Just turning to look at him there was more grace and speed than any human could ever possess. When Troy and Sharpay made to exit the room they looked more like they were floating, not walking. And when Ryan held out a hand to beckon him into the room it was like he was moving through water. Chad stumbled into the room and onto the bed, taking Ryan's mouth in a hot kiss before he could control himself. He felt Ryan smile against his lips and deepened the kiss, laying them both down.

"You're so beautiful," he panted when the need for air in his lungs overwhelmed his need to have his tongue down Ryan's throat, "Ryan, I'm so sorry. So sorry. Jesus, I could have lost you. Jesus."

"Chad," Ryan murmured, placing gentle, chaste kisses to Chad's neck, "Chad, it's

okay." Chad was trembling in his arms. Ryan stroked his back gently, feeling so much love for Chad in that moment it overwhelmed him.

"We're a pair, aren't we?" he asked quietly.

"Pair of wimps," Chad murmured, sitting up and wiping the couple of tears he had allowed to slip from his eyes away with a smile, "I haven't cried in years. Seems stupid. You're here. You're fine."

"Sometimes humans need the emotional release," Ryan ran a hand over Chad's loose, wild hair, "I can't cry."

"Really?"

"Not a tear in two hundred and thirty-three years."

"Will you tell me about your life, Ryan?" Chad sat up and leaned against the headboard, wrapping his arms around Ryan and pulling him close so that Ryan's head rested just over his heart, "Gabriella told me to ask you."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. I want to know everything about you. About before you were turned, after you were turned, the whole sun thing. How does that work? And when we would go out to eat, where did you put the food? Crosses, holy water, mirrors, being invited in, everything."

"One question at a time, Chad," Ryan laughed, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but be forewarned, it could take a while."

"I have nowhere I'd rather be," Chad whispered in his ear and placed a kiss to his hair. It made Ryan smile.

"Neither have I," He admitted, then paused to get his thoughts in order and began, "I was born in the year of our lord seventeen hundred and fifty-five…"

**Author's Note: The next couple of chapters will be dealing with Ryan's life before and after being turned which means more will be revealed on how Sharpay met Troy and Gabriella as well. Just wanted to give the warning that there won't be much Ryan/Chad in the next couple of chapters but I hope you enjoy them anyway. Should be up in the next couple of days! Thanks for reading! T.H.**


	9. Chapter 9

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

**Author's Note: These next couple of chapters will be a kind of loose stream of consciousness that varies between Chad and Ryan talking, remembered conversations, and actual scenes from the past. I hope they don't get too confusing. If they do, please leave a review or PM with any questions about anything I can clear up! Thanks and happy reading. T.H.**

"Wait, wait, wait…" Chad's body went stiff under Ryan's and he gaped at Ryan in shock, "Seventeen fifty-five like before the Declaration of Independence was signed seventeen fifty-five?"

"You're adorable, Chad," Ryan felt the smile spread across his face at the look on Chad's and set his hand to Chad's cheek. He leaned up and kissed him thoroughly, "And yes, I do mean that seventeen fifty-five. But, this is going to take a lot longer if you interrupt me every five seconds."

"Sorry," Chad relaxed against the headboard again and smiled at Ryan sheepishly, "I'll be quiet."

Ryan smiled and kissed him once more before laying his head over Chad's heart and continuing, "My childhood was normal for the times. Sharpay, she was called Mary then, and I had three younger sisters. Our youngest brother, Jacob, died of scarlet fever when he was only two, but that was quite common then. That neither Mary, nor I, nor any of our other sisters died before reaching maturity was quite astonishing really. My father's name was Samuel, he owned a company that built ships. My mother's name was Ruth. She was a little unusual in that she believed in an equal education for all of her children, male and female alike. We spent at least three hours every day learning to read and write, learning to figure, and learning our history. It was rare for Mary and me to be apart, even after lessons. We played together constantly, did our studying together, and even shared a room. When we were young it seemed that our parents didn't mind it. But, as we grew older and certain aspects of my personality began to develop they felt it would be better if Mary and I were separated."

He could still hear his parent's voices in his head.

"The boy is spending too much time with his sisters."

"Why can't you call him by his name? He is not just the boy, he is our son Ryan."

"If he turns fey because of how much time he spends with women…"

"Fey? Samuel, that's goes too far. I will admit Ryan is a bit feminine and perhaps he could use more time among men…"

"Good. It's settled then. Tomorrow he begins work with me in the ship yard. A little bit of manual labor will do him good."

"Perhaps you're right. He'll be ready to leave when you are."

"You will see, my love, this will only be good for him."

"I hope you're right, Samuel."

"It wasn't bad for me," Ryan admitted with a grin, "I enjoyed the work, even when the tar burnt my skin and my hands cracked and bled because they weren't used to the work. I was fifteen, after all, and had boundless energy. One thing my parents did not anticipate was the fact that I would finally come to a true realization about my sexuality in the ship yard. An apprentice ship builder, Thomas, was twenty and the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Constantly sweaty, constantly with his shirt off. You know the type. I had never found myself attracted to men, or anyone really, until the day Thomas pulled me into a storage shed. Seemed I had been driving him mad with my lithe, young body, and happy laughter. From the moment his lips touched mine I knew I was what my father and mother feared. I was so scared. But not scared enough to stay away from Thomas that summer." He paused.

"What happened?" Chad prompted.

"What often happened and seems to still happen, unfortunately. My father caught us together. Thomas was whipped and dismissed. I was dragged back to the house and a marriage was arranged for me. Two nights later Mary and I ran away together. I couldn't stay and she wouldn't let me leave without her. New York City was not then what it is now, but that was where we headed. It was close and big enough that we could lose ourselves in it without chance of being found by our parents. Soon after we ran, Mary changed her name. Someone commented to her that she was 'sharp as a tack.' Somehow it morphed into Sharpay as we continued to make our way. It always seemed to suit her more. Gabriella calls it her true name. Troy's name was originally Cale."

"Really?" Chad asked, "Somehow it doesn't seem right."

"Yes, I know. Troy suits him much better than Cale. Just as Sharpay suits my sister better than Mary. It's why Gabriella calls them true names. When you have eternity to live, being stuck with a name you know isn't yours can be damaging."

"You and Gabriella kept your names."

"Ours suit us and always have," Ryan smiled, "After Sharpay and I ran to New York City I went to work in a gentleman's parlor while Sharpay went onto the stage. You can guess what I was doing, I assume?"

Chad looked shy and felt his cheeks heat.

"It was a good enough life. We never went hungry. We had a couple of nice rooms above a general store. We were content for a couple of years. Then, Sharpay came home one night absolutely ecstatic."

"Ryan!" Sharpay tore into their rooms with a scream, still in her revealing stage outfit. She was a glorified saloon girl, a can-can dancer, sometimes a whore when a customer was willing to pay enough, but she was pleased with all of the attention she was getting, and she loved her life. Especially with what had happened that very evening.

"Mary?" Ryan raised an eyebrow wryly as he came into her line of sight, just buttoning his shirt as he was getting ready to go put in a few late hours at work. Men always paid well if a boy was ready for them when they came in at any hour. Some were so hot late at night that they didn't even question the expensive rates.

"Sharpay." She stamped her foot impatiently.

"Sharpay." He nodded in ascent.

"I have found the man I am going to marry!" She announced happily, throwing herself onto their small table and lifting her foot to the chair so that she could unlace her boot. Ryan sat in the chair and took her booted foot in his hands to undo the laces himself.

"Have you?"

"Yes! He's beautiful and kind and he paid me so well! His name is Troy and he will be calling for me in less than an hour! I must…"

The knock on the door stopped her on a squeal. Troy hadn't told her when he would be there, just that he would be there soon and she knew without wondering that he was at the door for her. Without another word, she was up and running into the room they shared to change while she made motion at Ryan to answer the door. He rolled his eyes at her, but went to answer the door despite the fact that he couldn't see how this man would be any different than the others she had brought to their home before. Sharpay was constantly insisting that she was in love, that the man she brought to their apartment on any given day was going to be the one she married. But, all of the love affairs turned into the same thing. The men wanted her in bed. Once they were satisfied, they never called again. It was a miracle she didn't have five children by now with how often they came to her. She always cried for a day or so, and then the whole thing happened over again. He didn't think this man would be any different.

But, there was something different about Troy. When he answered the door the first thing that alerted him to the fact that this would be different for Sharpay was the fact that the man that stood before him had an arm wrapped around the waist of a beautiful woman. They were both smiling, but it was obvious from the way that they held each other that they were lovers. The fact that they were both obviously paler than they should have been was something that he noticed second. He felt something off about them from the moment he first last eyes on them, but he wouldn't be able to place what it was for nearly a year after. He was distracted from his observation of the couple when Sharpay tore back into the room in her best dressing gown and Ryan knew that she had planned to spend the hours he was at the gentlemen's parlor simply in bed with Troy. He was shocked when she stopped at the door, observed the couple for a moment, and then smiled.

"Hello," she said, almost shyly.

Gabriella extracted herself from Troy's arms and ran a finger over Sharpay's nose and lips. Ryan tried not to blush at the blatantly sexual noise that Sharpay made when the finger traced her throat and the hand came to rest between her breasts. Gabriella smiled at her and ran her free hand over Sharpay's golden hair.

"Hello, Sharpay. My name is Gabriella."

"Gabriella…" Sharpay breathed out on a sigh, then turned to the man smiling at them still in the doorway, "Troy…" The man stepped into the room, taking both of the women, so opposite in look, in his arms and placing a kiss to both of their foreheads.

"I'll just be going!" Ryan laughed nervously and grabbed his jacket and boots before running through the door and slamming it behind him, breathing deeply as he pulled on his shoes and jacket. By the time he returned home early the next morning, Sharpay was gone, leaving only a short note explaining that she was happy and she would see him again when she could. He smiled reading it. If there was one person he knew in the entire world, it was his sister, and she never said anything she didn't mean. Not his Sharpay.

"I didn't see her for a year. As you can guess, she went with Troy and Gabriella that night and they turned her. They knew that Sharpay had amazing self control when she chose to practice it, but she was worried that she would not be able to control herself around me. So, she waited until she was absolutely certain that she would not hurt me. When I finally saw her again, she was so happy with them I couldn't fault her even her new life or her two lovers. She was and still is, after all, my dearest sister."

"That first conversation must have been interesting." Chad commented.

"It was," Ryan laughed.

"You have to drink blood to survive?"

"Yes."

"And you cannot go out in the sun?"

"No, I can't.

"It sounds like a folk tale, Shar."

"In a way, it is…I am. There are many legends that surround what I've become from every country in the world."

"And what exactly have you become, Shar?"

"The best word for it, the one you'll probably recognize, is…vampire."

"Vampire. You never could do things simply, Shar, could you?"

"I do love you very much, Ryan!"

"I love you, too, Shar, no matter what you've become."

"But, what about you?" Chad asked, "When were you turned? Who turned you?"

"Patience. We're getting to that," Ryan chided gently and undid two of the buttons on Chad's shirt. He began to run his fingertips over his lover's chest gently. Chad was so enraptured with the story that he didn't really seem to notice. Ryan was glad that he was such a good storyteller, but a little put out that even his little seduction seemed to have no effect on Chad. He quirked an eyebrow and kissed Chad's neck, feeling vindicated when Chad shivered and held him closer still.

"Fine, fine," Chad murmured, placing a kiss to Ryan's temple and settling back in as Ryan began to speak again.

"First, you have to know that I never wanted to be turned. I didn't want to have to live how Sharpay lived. I loved the sun. The idea of drinking another's blood to survive made me feel sick. Just seeing how strong Sharpay was frightened me a little in all truthfulness. I was vain enough to think that it might not be so bad to be eternally beautiful, but would not allow that one good point to change my mind. Sharpay offered to have Troy turn me the first night she came back to me. I told her that I was happy as I was. She asked again, once a week over the next year, but my answer was always the same.

"After a few months my argument was that I couldn't imagine staying the same when so many things in the world were changing. In the summer of 1776 America declared independence from Britain. I believed in independence. I was moved by the speakers on the corners. I wanted to fight to make the colonies a true, united country. So, I did the only thing a young, healthy man could do. I signed up for the army."

"You joined the continental army?"

"Don't sound so shocked, Chad," Ryan smirked, "Yes, I joined the continental army. I was not what they were looking for in a soldier. Not completely anyway. I was spoiled, had not put in a hard days work for years, and I was fairly obvious in my sexuality at that point, but they were desperate for as many men as they could get and I did try my very hardest to live up to their expectation for a solider." He paused and Chad tried to guess what had happened.

"So, you were wounded in battle and Sharpay turned you?"

"Not quite," Ryan's voice darkened and Chad rubbed his arm in comfort, "I never made it as far as a battlefield. I was stupid, wasn't thinking, when I agreed to pleasure another of the trainees in return for a new pair of socks of all things. As soon as I was down on my knees in front of him, ready to do what I had done so many times before, he shouted to high heaven and the others came running. I couldn't defend myself against a dozen of them. They beat me with fist, foot, and whatever else they could grab, a branch, an oar. After a time I heard a gunshot, saw one of the officers. He asked what was going on. I thought he was there to help me, but after they had told him what they had seen he pointed his gun at me and told them that there were much easier ways to deal with my kind."

Chad felt the tears gather in his eyes for the man he loved just thinking about it. How must Ryan have felt when the men he had trusted had turned on him so brutally? They had set him up specifically to give themselves an excuse to kill him. How could people be so cruel and heartless? He wished he could take it all away, but there was nothing he could do. The men who had hurt Ryan so badly had died long before he was even born. He tried to keep the anger rising in his chest down so that Ryan didn't have to deal with it. From Ryan's tone of voice, he had long ago accepted what had happened. He would tell Chad there was no point to his anger. Chad just held him and continued to listen, wanting, needing to know more about the vampire he had fallen in love with.

"He shot me in the chest and they left me to die. It was the last pain I was ever to feel."

"Where is my brother?" Sharpay asked impatiently as she sat in a tall tree, surveying the training camp that Ryan had been sent to when he had signed up to be in the army. She hadn't understood why he was doing it when he had told her his plans, and she didn't understand it any better now, but the one thing she did know was that if Ryan felt he needed to do this, she, Troy, and Gabriella were going to make sure that he was as safe as possible, at night at least. She had woken just a few minutes earlier as the sun finally set in the west and had been at the training camp just moments later. Ryan didn't know that she and her lovers had followed him. He would be angry with her if he knew, thinking along the lines that he could take care of himself. But, she had left him alone for nearly a year just after she was turned and now that she knew just how fragile humans could be, she didn't feel like she could leave him alone at all. Troy and Gabriella understood. They knew that Sharpay would keep watch over her brother until he died. After all, what was the span of one lifetime to a vampire's endless nights?

"Perhaps he's night training." Gabriella suggested from her perch in the tree, just a branch higher than Sharpay.

"They did that last week," Sharpay growled, annoyed that Ryan was still eluding her, trying to fight down the fear that was rising in her heart that she couldn't put a name to.

"Who says they only do it once?" Gabriella countered.

"Do you smell that?" Troy asked suddenly, sitting up quickly. He was lower in the tree than either of them and out of it before they could even ask what he had sensed on the air. Gabriella and Sharpay ran after him, following his scent like a trail of bright light. Soon enough Sharpay caught the scent that had captured Troy's attention and she screamed in denial of it even as she ran. The scent just got stronger and stronger. It was the scent of Ryan's blood. Ever since she had been turned she had been able to smell it just under his skin. Perhaps it was because she loved him so very much that Ryan's blood was not appealing to her in any way. It made her feel sick as she ran. What was only a few seconds running felt like eternity until she suddenly saw something that would have made her heart stop if it hadn't already.

Ryan was lying next to the small stream that ran by the camp, just behind a dilapidated building that the army wouldn't even use. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle and the only way she recognized him was the scent of his blood. His face was a mess of blood and crushed bone. He was lying completely still, but she could tell from hearing the slow, sluggish way his heart was beating that he was still alive. She fell to her knees next to his mangled body wishing that she was still able to cry. It just didn't seem right that the only thing she could do was scream out in anger as she gathered him in her arms. How could it be that she had been away from him for only twelve hours and this had happened? She was so strong now and had two lovers who were even stronger than her. She should have been able to protect him. They should have been able to protect him. Despite the fact that he was nearly dead, his heart was still beating. She looked up at Troy. There was hope.

"Shar, baby, no," Troy backed away one step. He knew what Sharpay's eyes were asking him and he also knew that if he gave into what she wanted her brother would never forgive him and possibly her as well. Ryan had expressed time and time again that he did not want to become what they were. Would he be able to accept being turned, even if it saved his life? He would ask him if he could, but even he could tell that if he wasn't turned Ryan would never wake up again. Even now he could hear that Ryan's heart was slowing even more. He had only minutes left, maybe less. But, he couldn't do it without Ryan's permission. He understood the hate one could feel for one's sire if permission was not granted before one was turned. He still hated his sire to the core of his being and he had killed him nearly three hundred years earlier. He didn't know if he could stand having Ryan hate him for all of time. He liked the boy. He was funny and refreshing. The same reasons he liked Ryan and didn't want him to hate him were some of the same reasons he was considering turning him. The other was looking straight at him, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Troy, please. For me," Sharpay begged, "He doesn't have much time."

"Lover," Gabriella was at his side in an instant, whispering so low into his ear that even Sharpay wouldn't be able to hear them, "If you do not do this, we will lose her forever. We just got her, Troy. I do not want to lose her now. You are the only one of us strong enough to turn someone. Please, do this, Troy. For me and for our girl."

Troy closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sky, letting the moonlight wash over him. When he opened his eyes he looked down at Gabriella, clinging to his arm, and nodded. He looked down at Sharpay, rocking her brother, humming a lullaby in his ear quietly. She looked up, hope in her eyes, when he knelt next to her and held out his arms for Ryan.

"Thank you," she whispered, "Troy, thank you so much."

"I love you," he murmured, "You need to understand that he might hate both of us for the rest of his existence if I do this now."

"As long as I know he's alive," she whispered, running a hand over Ryan's face tenderly.

Troy nodded and dipped his head to Ryan's neck. It didn't take long to bring Ryan to the point of death. He was already almost there. Troy lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit into it, then set it to Ryan's mouth.

"Come on, Ryan," he whispered, "Drink it. Drink it, please, Ryan."

As if he had heard, Ryan began to suckle at Troy's wrist. Sharpay watched in amazement as the transformation began to take place. It hadn't hurt when she had gone through it. She was glad that it meant that Ryan would not feel any more pain. He'd had enough of that to last a hundred life times. She continued to stroke his hair and watched as his broken bones began to set themselves to rights again. She smiled and continued to hum as his face began to heal into the one that she loved so much. She looked up when she heard Troy grunt as if he was in pain and saw just how much turning Ryan was hurting him. When he had turned her, she had been too involved in her transformation to take note of what was happening to him. Now she could see why neither she nor Gabriella were strong enough to turn a human. They were much faster than Troy when it counted, but it could not be said that they were as strong by any means.

"Troy, darling," Gabriella placed a hand to Troy's shoulder, "That's enough. Let him go now. He'll survive. He'll turn. Let go now, darling."

"Let go," Sharpay encouraged along with Gabriella, "He's fine now. Please, my love. I don't want you to hurt anymore."

Troy wrenched his wrist from Ryan's mouth and fell back, panting, against Gabriella's chest as Sharpay held Ryan once more. The transformation didn't take long, she knew from experience. She was just preparing herself for what Ryan would say when he realized what she had done when he opened his bright blue eyes to her and sat up. He looked at his hands for a moment, ran them over his chest where the bullet wound had been, and then looked at the world around him. It was like looking at the world for the first time, Sharpay knew. There would be no way that he wouldn't know what had happened right away. Still, she had no answer when he looked at her, an accusation in his eyes and asked:

"What have you done?"


	10. Chapter 10

**All Previous Disclaimers Apply.**

**Author's Note: This chapter goes really fast and generally glosses over these two love affairs, but you'll understand why later. Please drop a review if you have the time. Thanks, TH.**

"What happened after they turned you?" Chad asked quietly, stroking Ryan's hair gently.

"I got angry," Ryan's voice was so low Chad almost couldn't make out the words, "More angry than I've ever been in my life. But, there was no undoing what Sharpay and Troy had done. They watched me carefully for the first couple of months to make sure that I wasn't going to do anything stupid."

"By stupid you mean…" Chad trailed off, but he knew Ryan knew what he was asking.

"Walking out into the sunlight," Ryan confirmed.

"How does that work?" Chad asked, wanting to get Ryan's mind somewhere other than a time when he was planning his own suicide.

"It's not quite like the movies," Ryan explained and his voice seemed a little lighter. Chad felt like he was finally able to breathe again and listened more comfortably, "We don't turn into ash if the sun hits us or anything. But, it's painful. It hurts like nothing else can hurt us anymore. It makes our bodies stiff, shuts us down. Eventually so much of us is paralyzed that we basically suffocate."

"How long does that take?"

"It's not instantaneous like popular myth would have you believe, but it doesn't take long. A half hour in the full light will kill us."

Chad swallowed harshly. He really didn't want to ask this next question, but he needed to know, "Would you have done that, Ryan?"

"I was planning to," Ryan admitted, "As soon as my sister and her lovers stopped watching me so closely I planned to walk out into the sun after they had fallen asleep for the day and let them discover my body the next night. It took two and a half months for Sharpay to trust me enough to let me out of her sight. If she had known that the night she did was the night I planned to be my last she never would have. But, something happened then that I had never anticipated."

"What was that?"

"Another vampire, an ancient, much older than me, much wiser, saved my life. His name was Tristan. He pulled me back from the edge, quite literally."

"I don't believe stepping into the sun will improve your health any, pretty one."

The voice was low and smooth, just behind him, and startled Ryan just enough that he jerked forward, falling toward the light that would kill him. He closed his eyes, ready for his death, not quite sure what to expect, when a pair of strong hands pulled him back into the deep shadows of the abandoned tavern he had chosen for his death. He had wanted to die just outside of the house he shared with his sister and her lovers, but he knew that if he tried to take his life there one of them would prevent him from doing so. He had been so sure of his location, so sure that no one would be there to stop him. He let out a frustrated scream as he realized he had been thwarted. All he wanted was to die in peace! Couldn't he be left alone to do even that? Hadn't he suffered enough?

"We all suffer, young one, before we die and after if you are of our kind."

"How did you…" Ryan whirled on his would-be savior and froze. The vampire who had prevented him from taking his own life was stunning. It could not be denied. His eyes were the ice blue that all vampires carried, but they seemed somehow deeper, a little darker. His perfect features seemed carved out of marble, framed by curling auburn locks that ended abruptly at his chin. He was smiling at the moment, gently and it was like an angel was looking at him. Ryan couldn't think of anything else to say, even when the other vampire took his hand and began running his thumb over the back of Ryan's hand methodically.

"I can hear your thoughts, young one," the other vampire's voice washed over Ryan and he had to close his eyes against the pure emotion it brought up in him. Emotion he wasn't ready to deal with, "As you grow in your new life you will be able to do it as well. Your sire can do it, I imagine. Has you sire told you nothing about these things?"

"I…haven't given him much of a chance to do so," Ryan admitted quietly, looking at the beautiful man in front of him for an intense moment met by the patience and gentleness he saw in the other's eyes. He closed his eyes against it. This vampire must be using some kind of mind trick on him. Only moments ago he had wanted, more than anything, to end his miserable existence. Now, all he wanted was to fall into this vampire's arms, to allow himself to be comforted.

"It's no trick, pretty," the voice was low and alluring again as a finger ran over his closed eyes, over his nose, over his lips and a hand came to rest in the hollow of his throat, "You never wanted it to end. Not really. You are grieving for a life that was never meant to be yours. You're so beautiful. You were meant to be as I am, eternally young, eternally beautiful. Can't you sense it? You were different in your human life. You always knew it. It was not just that you preferred the company of your own sex above that of the opposite. There was always something off in your heart. You always knew it, didn't you?"

"Yes," Ryan whispered, knowing that what the other vampire told him was true and could not be denied.

"I felt the same thing before I was turned," The other vampire whispered and pulled Ryan into an embrace that Ryan went into quite willingly, burying his face in the juncture between his comforter's neck and shoulder, "Won't you tell me your name, pretty?"

"Ryan," he whispered.

"Pretty Ryan," the vampire rocked him a little, "My name is Tristan. I'm going to take care of you." Ryan leaned further into Tristan and allowed himself to believe for the first time since he had been turned that this new life he never would have chosen for himself might not be the end of his world.

"Over the next five years, Tristan and I stayed with Sharpay, Gabriella, and Troy. Tristan insisted. I didn't understand until much later that he did it for me. He knew there would be times when I would need something from my sister that he could not provide. Tristan, I learned from Gabriella months after he had moved in with us, was older than all of us. The exact year of his rebirth was not known, even to himself. There was no accurate year keeping at the time. The closest we were able to discover, he was turned around seven hundred A.D. You've heard the Tristan and Isolde legend? Or Tristan of the Knights of the Round Table?"

"Hmm," Chad didn't trust his voice. There was an ugly feeling rising in his chest that he knew was jealousy. But, he had asked Ryan to tell him everything about his long life, so he would have to get used to it. Gabriella had told him that Ryan had had two loves before him. Tristan must have been the first. In a way he was torn. Tristan had saved Ryan's life. That was something to be grateful for. But, he had a very sure feeling in his gut that he would feel much better if he found out that Tristan was no longer living.

He drew in his breath sharply when a sudden glimpse assaulted him of a beautiful vampire with curling brown hair. He assumed it was Tristan. He fought to control his breath when the pleasantly beautiful face was suddenly marred by hate in the eyes and a twisted sneer on the lips. This man, this vampire, had not left Ryan easily. He knew just as suddenly that Tristan was still alive. He prayed quickly that he would never meet him.

"Chad?" Ryan sat up quickly, placing his hand over Chad's heart, "Are you alright?" Chad's pulse was much faster than it should have been and he seemed to be trying much harder than he should have to in order to keep his breathing at a normal pace. Chad hadn't kept things from him yet and he'd hate to think that Chad wouldn't start it now that they were finally able to be completely open with each other.

"Fine," Chad smiled, thinking fast, not wanting to worry Ryan unnecessarily. The world was a big place after all. What were the chances of meeting Tristan now? He pulled Ryan back down to him. Ryan went reluctantly, but Chad's next words reassured him. "I just made the connection. That Tristan was your Tristan?"

"In a sense," Ryan smiled, "Tristan was a warrior for a well known feudal lord before he was turned. He was a great warrior at the time and achieved much fame and recognition for his strength and valor until he fell in love with the wrong woman and was banished and nearly killed for it. His own sire, whose name no one knows, saved his life by turning him much as Troy saved mine. There was one major difference when it came to Tristan's turning and mine, however."

"What was that?"

"Tristan loved his new life. He loved the power it gave him over everything in sight. His thousand years hadn't changed that. He hoped that I would love my new life in the same way he loved his. He never could quite understand how I could feel so guilty about killing when it gave him such a thrill. After arguing so many nights, we finally agreed to disagree and began to hunt in different circles, at different times. I was not in control those first few years and I did kill occasionally, no matter how hard I tried to stop before it became fatal to those I was feeding from. I never wanted to kill, Chad. I spent hours, days, in those first years, simply lying in my coffin, begging for an absolution that would not come from a god I no longer believe in."

Chad sighed and snuggled a little, hating the tone in Ryan's voice, but knowing there was nothing he could do to change it. What could he say to Ryan anymore, after all? Ryan had lived such a long, long time.

"How long did you stay with Tristan, Ryan?" he asked after a careful moment considering what his next move should be.

"Not long after that," Ryan admitted, "Another five years. We bought a beautiful brownstone a few blocks away from Sharpay and the others. For a while, Tristan was very understanding that I would not be able to be far from my sister. But, after just a couple of years he began to get angry that I wouldn't travel back to the Old World with him. He called me childish, not a true vampire, said that I acted as if Sharpay was more my mother than my sister. At first it was just little bites, little insults. Then, he began to dig into my hunting habits. He got so mean, so vicious in his remarks, despite the fact that he was never anything but gentle and sweet when he was happy with me. After a time I realized I just couldn't live with Tristan anymore, knowing how he looked down on me for not wanting to kill those I fed from."

"They're nothing, Ryan!"

"They're living beings, Tristan!"

"And we're superior!"

"Just because we're stronger does not make us superior, Tristan. How many times have we seen it? We hide in the dark while they walk about freely in the sun. If we're so superior to them why are we so few?"

"That has nothing to do with it, Ryan. You know that."

"Maybe it has everything to do with it, Tristan. And maybe I can't do this anymore."

"What are you saying, Ryan?"

"I'm saying I can't be with someone who can think so little of me while professing to love me."

"You're not just saying you can't be with someone, are you, Ryan? You're saying you can't be with me. You're saying you're leaving me, aren't you?"

"Yes, Tristan. That's exactly what I'm saying."

"He was angry?" Chad asked, shivering slightly and trying to cover it up by shifting position. He didn't quite manage it, but Ryan chose not to mention it.

"Very," he admitted, remembering the way Tristan had torn through the house they had bought, tearing apart all of their beautiful things before leaping from the window. Ryan remembered him now fondly. Tristan had saved his life, taught him that there could be beauty in the night. Despite how things had ended between them, Ryan still held a distant affection for Tristan.

"Doesn't that…I don't know…worry you?"

"Not at all," Ryan shifted so that he was laying on top of Chad and set his chin on his linked fingers, smiling when Chad set one hand to the small of his back and began massaging his neck with the other. Ryan practically purred from the back of his throat and found it a little hard to concentrate with Chad holding him so intimately, but forced himself to keep his thoughts on the current topic, "But, you have to understand vampires."

"Explain it to me, then."

"Vampires are so constant. Our bodies never change, the night never really changes. When you're around long enough you come to discover that the world never really changes. A person changes, but people never really change. So, it's hard for us to make changes in ourselves or have the ones we love change. I was still new enough to the life that it wasn't nearly as hard for me to leave Tristan as it was for him to have me leave him. He thought, because we were both vampires and we were in love for a time, that we'd be in love forever. Like Troy and Gabriella. They were together nearly two hundred years before they turned Sharpay and the three of them have been together since."

"What happened to Tristan after you left him?" Chad asked, holding his breath for Ryan's answer.

"I haven't heard from him since, though I hear of him through other vampires every now and again. He's amassed a great fortune, as most of us tend to do over the years. He's stays mostly on whatever continent I am not. I hurt him deeply enough that he will probably avoid me for the rest of eternity." Ryan carefully schooled his features not to reflect the much stronger words to the contrary that Tristan has hissed at him just before they parted and continued with his story, "Just a few weeks after I left him, Troy and Gabriella took Sharpay and I to the old world to show us the beautiful architecture and the cultures, where they were born, things like that."

"I bet you saw some amazing things," Chad smiled, glad they were leaving the Tristan part of the story behind.

"I did," Ryan agreed, "And I met some amazing people who would have an effect on the world I would never have anticipated at the time we knew each other."

"I'll bite," Chad laughed, "Like who?"

"In Vienna we met a very rude little man and his very dull, simple wife. He was very popular with the royals of all the nations at the time. I never could quite understand how such a disgusting little man could write such beautiful music."

"I'm chomping at the bit here," Chad tugged on Ryan's hair gently, laughing.

"His name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." Ryan laughed at the look on Chad's face and kissed him chastely because he was just so cute, "There were others. Some day I'll tell you about all of them. But, time went on very much the same for years and years. I went out on my own for quite a while. Years. In the end I went back to Sharpay, Troy, and Gabriella. Just before the Great Depression hit America and the world, I joined them again. I always seem to find new relationships when I'm with them, though. I met Steven when I was with them."

"Steven?" Chad asked, wondering why he didn't feel the same apprehension or jealousy when Ryan brought up this other man that he had felt when they had been speaking of Tristan.

"You may have noticed, that I am not an ordinary vampire," Ryan pressed a kiss to Chad's chest and was rewarded with a kiss to the top of his head, "I fell for a human once before you as well. Steven was flashy, flamboyant, and so much fun. We had such great nights together in the bars where moonshine flowed and people were constantly waiting for a police raid. I told him what I was very early into the relationship, hoping for his sympathy, and he broke my heart."

"He begged you to turn him, didn't he?" Chad asked after a moment.

"From the moment he knew," Ryan admitted, "I couldn't understand how, after everything I'd told him, he still wanted to be like me. I wouldn't give him what he wanted and neither would Troy, Gabriella, or Sharpay, so he left me. I finally realized just how much pain I had caused Tristan because Steven had caused me as much. I didn't want to change at all. I finally understood."

"And it still hurts," Chad said quietly.

"Not nearly so much anymore," Ryan smiled at Chad, "I told you we don't change easily. But, with you now…anything is possible, everything is good. My heart is ready to move on. But, please, don't ask me about Steven for a couple more years, Chad, until you've helped me heal my heart completely."

"Whatever you want, Ryan," Chad promised, "Take as long as you need. I'll still be here. One question, though?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you still love me when I'm old? I don't want to be a vampire, Ry, not at all. I'm selfish enough that after you've told me how much you hate it I don't think I could ever want it. But, I do know that I want you. For the rest of my life I'll want you."

"Chad," Ryan sat up and cupped Chad's face in his hands, "Believe me when I tell you that I never want you to suffer as I've suffered. I will never change you. But, I will love you for the rest of time. I've known love before, but nothing like you. It will never change. Vampires are constant. Even when you're old I will love you as I love you now. You're going to die in my arms an old, old man. The morning after you've left me I will walk out into the sun so that I can be with you for the rest of time. But, that won't be for a very, very long time. Understand?"

"A very, very, very long time," Chad leaned up to kiss him, "I love you, vampire."

"I love you, too, human man."


	11. Chapter 11

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

"Ryan, I think I need to tell Taylor," Chad smiled at his lover, sitting on his kitchen counter watching as he prepared dinner for himself.

"Why is that?" Ryan asked, smiling in return. He loved to watch Chad do the most mundane things. Watching Chad make himself a grilled sandwich made Ryan smile like he hadn't in years. It was so strange to be so happy after so many years of anger and frustration. It had been four months since Ryan had told Chad everything about himself. Four months of the most happiness Ryan had known in all his long life.

"She's getting suspicious because you only come over at night, my grades are slipping because I never get any sleep anymore, and I don't play all that much anymore because I just don't have the energy. She thinks you've got me into hard drugs or something. I have to give her a real reason and I can't lie to her. She's my best friend."

For a moment Ryan looked at Chad as he hadn't for weeks. Had he been so blinded by his happiness in his love for Chad that he hadn't been bothering to pay attention to Chad's health? Now that he was looking at him he began to worry. The circles under Chad's eyes were a dark, bruised color, he had lost weight, and some of the luster in his hair and skin that had drawn Ryan to him so at the beginning had faded somewhat. And hadn't Chad been getting sick more often? He had had two substantial colds in the past few months that had knocked him out of commission for nearly a week each time. Ryan forced himself not to roll his eyes, groan, and slam a hand against his forehead. How could he have been so stupid? Chad was human and he was exhausted. He was not forced to sleep every day simply by the nature of his being. When Ryan left just before the sun every morning Chad just continued with his day. Ryan had been so enraptured with his new romance, with his love for Chad that he'd allowed himself to forget the fact that his lover had very specific needs. Needs that he hadn't been seeing to like a caring lover should.

"Chad," Ryan moved swiftly from the counter he had been sitting on to Chad's side in just a moment. With practiced grace and not taking his eyes from Chad's surprised ones, he moved the skillet from the heat and took both of Chad's hands in his own.

"Ryan?" Chad looked at him with questions in his eyes that Ryan wished he had the answers to. He had been caring more for himself than for Chad these past moths and Chad deserved so much more than that. He felt an uncomfortable fist of ice in his chest and took Chad in his arms, stroking his hair and breathing in his scent deeply.

"Babe, what's wrong? Can I do something? What do you need?"

"Chad," Ryan pulled back and took Chad's face in his hands, reading the pure exhaustion and concern in them, "You're always taking care of me, putting me before yourself. I'm so sorry. I should be taking care of you like you take care of me."

"You do take care of me," Chad smiled and kissed him gently, "You take care of me every night."

"And you're exhausted, you're losing weight, your grades are slipping and it's all because of me."

"Ry…"

"Let me get this out. We're planning on spending the rest of our lives together. We can't start this way. I can't just let you sacrifice everything while I sacrifice nothing and gain everything in the world by being with you. I want you to be happy and healthy. Perhaps when you're done with school you'll get a job that keeps you up all night when I can be with you and we can share a bed during the day, but until then, you need to sleep. You need to be healthy. I need you to be healthy. I love you so much."

"I love you, too." Chad swallowed around the lump of emotion in his throat.

"So, come on," Ryan swooped Chad up in his arms. Testament to just how tired he was Chad just relaxed into his embrace and didn't fight as Ryan carried him into the bedroom. He was nearly asleep before Ryan even laid him on the bed and covered him with the blanket. Chad was about to protest that he didn't want Ryan to leave him when Ryan slipped into the bed behind him and wrapped his arms around Chad's waist. He kissed Chad's neck and nestled against him, hoping that his cool skin wouldn't keep Chad awake.

"Love you," Chad sighed as he fell completely into a deep slumber.

No worries about keeping him awake then, Ryan smiled against his neck. This might turn out to be one of his favorite pastimes with Chad. Holding him while he slept was more satisfying that Ryan would have ever thought possible. He snuggled against Chad's back and closed his eyes, content to hear Chad breathing and feel his heart beating against his hand.

At first Chad's dreams were pleasant and light, images of himself and Ryan in places he had never gone but Ryan had. In his dreams Ryan took him to these places and showed him all of the things that he had seen built, told him about all of the people he had met who had had such an impact on the world that no one could have foretold. But, the pleasant dreams didn't last. Soon they were taken over by darkness where Ryan couldn't reach him and such pain as he had never known. It radiated from his heart and shot down all of his limbs. He wanted to scream, but he found that he couldn't. It was so dark, but after what felt like an eternity of pain the edge of it began to ease and he heard a voice that he didn't recognize.

"How do you feel now, Chadwick? Now that he couldn't save you? Now that he's proved that he doesn't love you? He didn't even come for you, Chadwick. You're nothing to him. And now you're one of us. The one thing you never wanted to be. He won't want you now. You're nothing special. Not human, certainly not beautiful as any other vampire, you're nothing. Just wait until he sees you. You'll disgust him."

Chad forced his heavy eyelids open and tried to get his eyes to focus on the man looming over him. The auburn curls, bright blue eyes, and sneer were very much known to him though he had never seen the vampire before. He tried to say his name, but the vampire put a finger to his lips and held a mirror up to him.

"Look at yourself now, Chadwick."

Chad looked and felt the horror rise in his chest. He was pale, too pale to be alive, and his once dark brown eyes had turned ice blue.

"No!" Chad screamed, sitting up in the bed. He pushed himself away from the mattress and into the last corner of the room that still had moonlight shining on it. He didn't look up even when Ryan was suddenly in front of him, trying to cup his face in his hands and speak to him. He kept his arms wrapped so tightly around his knees and his eyes so tightly shut that Ryan would have had to hurt him to get him to budge. It was just a dream, he assured himself silently again and again. Just a dream. It wasn't a glimpse. It couldn't be. Ryan would never let it happen. The vampire…Tristan, even the name made him shudder and whimper, was not even on the continent. And he and Ryan had been apart for so many years. What reason would he have to come after Chad? It didn't make any sense. Just a dream, just a dream. He repeated it in his mind until he was calm enough to open his eyes and look at Ryan's beautiful, concerned eyes looking down at him.

"Baby…" Ryan was murmuring, running a gentle hand over Chad's hair, his face, his shoulders, any skin he could reach, "Baby, please, tell me what's happening. What's wrong? You were sleeping so peacefully. You seemed so content. What happened? Are you alright? Please talk to me. Please."

"I'm okay," Chad murmured, finally, surprised at how exhausted his voice sounded, "I'm fine. I'm sorry I scared you. Nightmare. Pretty bad, but nothing to worry about."

"Chad…"

"Please, Ryan," Chad knew that it was unfair, but he allowed his eyes to fill with frustrated tears, "Please, I just want to go back to sleep."

"Okay," Ryan gave in. How could he not when Chad was looking at him in such a way? "Whatever you want." He picked Chad up and carried him back to the bed. He knew that Chad was just pretending to be asleep when he came back from the bathroom and ran a damp rag over his face and arms to cool and soothe him. Just as he knew that when he finally finished his comforting ritual, nearly a half hour later, Chad had indeed fallen asleep again. His lover's breathing was deep and even and when he dared to look into Chad's mind momentarily, unobtrusively, his dreams were once again peaceful and light. He hoped they would stay that way. The way Chad had woken screaming when only moments before he had been still and calm worried Ryan more than he could say. Taylor had told him of Chad's glimpses at one of the basketball games they had attended together.

"Chad's sixth sense, his shine, his glimpses, his power, whatever you want to call it," She had said quietly so that the others at the table could not hear her, "It's more like a warning than anything else. It's as if his mind or his soul or whatever are more in tune to anything that might hurt Chad in any sense, physical or emotional, and try to warn him before they happen."

"But what about me?" Ryan had asked, "You said Chad had a glimpse of me before we met."

"I didn't say they were always warnings, Ryan, just most of the time. And besides, jury's still out on whether your glimpse was meant as a warning or not. I like you, Ryan, more than anyone Chad's ever dated, but because he's falling for you so fast and hard you have more potential to hurt him than anyone else ever has. Think about that for a while, okay?"

"Of course," he had murmured, thinking on it already. It had been in the back of his mind since the conversation, but came back full force now. What sort of glimpse could Chad have had that made him scream so readily? Ryan had been in a trance like state, lulled into comfort by Chad's sleep, when Chad had begun to scream and had been terrified when Chad jerked out of the bed and wouldn't look at him or say anything to him. Of course, it might not have been a glimpse at all. It might have been a bad dream, just like Chad had told him. He wanted to believe it, tried to force himself to believe it, but found that somewhere deep inside him he knew that Chad had been lying. He silently willed the fist in his chest to loosen and allowed himself to sink into trance once more, keeping his mind focused on Chad's. But, Chad's mind remained calm and soothed for the rest of the night.

It would not have been so if either of them had known of the conversation taking place at the home Gabriella, Troy, and Sharpay shared.

"What do you mean Tristan's back in the states?" Sharpay demanded of the beautiful vampire sitting across the table from her. Martha was older even than Troy and Gabriella and a member of the Council. Sharpay bit her tongue and gave an apologetic smile to the vampire across the table. She knew that were Martha any other vampire the only reason she would still be alive after her rude outburst was the fact that she was the mate of another member of the Council. Martha would have been well within her rights as an ancient to kill Sharpay for not respecting her as she should have. Not that she ever would have. Martha, despite her long life and status as ancient vampire, had never gained the personality traits of being dark and mysterious as many vampires did. She was bubbly and open. She didn't brood. She loved to laugh and smile. She was with them now because she was their friend and hated to see any of her friends suffer in any way. Ryan had stayed with her on one of his breaks from them and they had gotten very close. She had wanted to speak to him personally, but she only had the one evening to spare, so she had settled for speaking with his sister and her lovers, who were also good friends seeing as Troy was on the Council as well.

"It's true," Martha couldn't keep the regret out of her voice, "And I think we all know why. I have to get back to Paris, or else I would stay and make sure that he doesn't try anything, but if he does feel free to call on me. Whether he's on the Council or not, you know most of us would side with you and Ryan. Just do me a favor and keep an eye open. Be careful. You know that he has humans. It might be best if you moved on for a time."

"We can't," Troy said quietly. The girls nodded in agreement, "Not without alerting Ryan as to what's going on. We've kept it from him for so long, we can't tell him now without him feeling as if we've betrayed him. And Chad's here. He would never leave without Chad. I think we all know that."

"Bring him with you," Martha emphasized, "I don't want any of my friends hurt. I have to count Chad as one of them now, even if I haven't met him. If he's made Ryan half as happy as you say then I would give my life for him same as any of you."

"He has," Sharpay said quietly, "Just do us a favor and have Paris keep an eye out, please. We can't move on, we can't tell Ryan. For right now, we're stuck."

"I understand," Martha sighed and rose to leave, "Stay safe all of you. Paris and I will be in touch. I'll feel out the rest of the council in the meantime as well."

"Thanks, Martha," Gabriella leaned forward and placed a kiss to Martha's cheek, "You're a great friend."

"I know," Martha smiled and opened the window nearest to her, "Keep him safe. Keep him happy."

"We will," Troy vowed as she jumped out the window and could only hope that he wasn't lying.


	12. Chapter 12

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

**Author's Note: A very short filler chapter until the real action next chapter. I'm kind of really desperate for reviews, everyone. No one reviews my stuff anymore and I'm wondering if anyone really reads it and if it's worth continuing. If you have time, please, please, drop a review.**

"Are you seeing Ryan tonight?" Jason sighed, already resolving himself to the answer that he knew his best friend would give him. Chad had been seeing Ryan every night for months. He hadn't even been coming to their pick-up basketball games lately. They'd started them for Chad, after all, because they all cared about him and wanted him to be able to do what he loved without the stress of being on a college team that would push his knee too hard and make him feel like his sexuality was wrong. The other guys were starting to get a little resentful toward both Ryan and Chad. No they weren't. Jason sighed again. He was the only one getting resentful. His wife was nearing her due date, Chad hadn't been by to see her lately and she missed him. He missed Chad, too, he could admit it. Chad was the best friend he had, next to Kelsi of course. He missed being able to hang out with him, talk about the things that worried them, play basketball with him. He was glad that Chad had fallen in love, but he just wished that the new relationship wasn't so all encompassing.

"No," Chad smiled at the shocked look on Jason's face, "Ryan's hanging out with his sister tonight. Besides, we have a game planned, don't we?"

"We…yeah. Of course we have a game planned tonight. It's been a while since you've been able to be there. You and Ryan sick of each other or something?"

"Hardly," Chad laughed, "But, we realized we've been kind of wrapped up in ourselves these past few…months. We decided that we need to learn to be able to be apart."

"Sounds smart," Jason tried to hide a smile behind his hand.

"I saw that," Chad laughed and threw an arm companionably around Jason's shoulder as they walked toward the student center, "Seriously, man, I'm sorry I haven't been around at all lately. This thing with Ryan just kind of took over, it's been so new, so big, I let it become everything. I let him become everything. Same thing happened with him. And we both know that it's not healthy."

"No problem, man," Jason nudged him in the ribs, "We all get that way sometimes. The fact that you and Ryan recognized it is a good thing."

It was amazing how easy it could be to forget resentment when the one you were resenting apologized and sounded so sincere about it, Jason mused. And of course, Chad's next question endeared him to Jason again all the more.

"How's Kels doing?" Chad asked.

"She's good. She's huge, though if you tell her I told you that I'll deny it completely then kill you myself. We've still got a month to her due date, but I swear, I'm on edge all the time. Every time she gets up to go to the bathroom at night, anytime she winces, anytime she does anything I'm so sure it's time. I'm driving her nuts. I'm driving me nuts. Neither of us are sleeping very well. It kind of sucks," Jason admitted.

"So, give her a call, I'll call Tay, and we'll see if we can arrange a little girl's night for them. Taylor can go over to your place and they can do…whatever it is women do when they're spending the night together. I'll tell her Kelsi needs to relax. You and I will play some ball, order some pizza, drink some beer. You can hang at my place tonight knowing that Tay's with Kelsi and hopefully you both gets some sleep and chill a little."

"Man, I've missed you," Jason laughed and pulled Chad into a headlock, "Let's do it, buddy. Let's set it up. You might just be saving my life. I think Kelsi's about ready to kill me."

"No wonder," Chad snorted, "You being so ugly and overbearing and all."

Jason let out a bark of laughter and took Chad to the ground. It was amazing how just like that they could be best friends again.

* * *

"Why aren't you with Chad tonight?"

"What?" Ryan looked up from his book into his sister's slightly panicked eyes. He blinked at her in confusion. Wasn't it Sharpay who had complained, not a week earlier, that he was spending too much time with Chad, that she saw him less now when they were in the same city than she had when they were continents apart? An exaggeration of course, but it had gotten the point across to Ryan that perhaps he and Chad were together too often. They were coming to depend on each other too much. Dependence was not a real relationship. And Chad had not been with his friends lately. Friends would be important through out Chad's life, Ryan knew. Human friends especially. Chad needed to keep and cultivate those relationships. If he only spent time with Ryan those relationships would suffer. They had realized this together and had decided that at least one night a week, if not more, they would spend with their separate friends or family. Even after they moved in together when Chad finished college they knew that a tradition such as the one they had begun tonight would still be important to their relationship.

"Why do you ask?" Ryan raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior.

"You're always with him!" Sharpay screeched, "How can you be away from him now when it's the most important time for you to be with him?"

"Sharpay, what are you talking about?"

"Troy! Gabi!" Sharpay ran to the stairs and yelled up for her lovers, then ran back to Ryan. She took him by the shoulders, "Where's Chad tonight, Ryan?"

"He's probably playing basketball at the court with the guys exactly like he said he would be, exactly like he's been doing for three years. Sharpay, what's going on?"

"Yes, Sharpay, what is going on?" Gabi tried to act annoyed, but was smiling as she and Troy glided into the room, "What has you yelling…Ryan, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Chad?"

"What is it with you all tonight?" Ryan tore himself away from Sharpay, "Why this sudden interest in Chad?"

"Chad's alone?" Troy asked, panic spreading across his face to match the panic on his girls' faces.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked.

"Tristan's here. He's been in America for days, but we didn't think you had to know. We've been tracking him and he's here!" Sharpay's voice had reached new levels of screech, but Ryan chose to ignore it.

"So?" Ryan shrugged, "What does that matter?"

"Ryan, we've kept a lot from you," Gabriella said, quietly, "For your own good, of course."

"Exactly what have you kept from me?" Ryan's voice had gotten low and dangerous.

"Tristan never got over you," Troy said quickly, "When he said that you would always be his, he meant it. He's killed every single one of your lovers since him."

"Killed?" Ryan sat down hard, "What? Steven?"

"Two months after you left him. Why do you think we encouraged you to go down to Australia?" Sharpay sat on the arm of the chair and put her arm around him.

"Not to seem heartless," Troy interrupted, "But, unless you want Chad to be added to the list, we have to move now. Explanations can come later."

"He's coming after Chad?" Ryan was suddenly on his feet again, his teeth bared and his hands flexing, like he was getting ready to tear something apart.

"It's the only explanation for his presence here," Gabriella tore her long skirt so that she could be more free to run. Sharpay was tearing off the corset she had put on earlier in the evening while Troy removed his suit jacket.

"If anything happens to Chad…" Ryan let the threat hang, and none of them were sure if it was meant for Tristan or his sister and her lovers. Without speaking he threw open a the window closest to him and jumped out. Gabriella began to murmur under her breath so fast not even Troy or Sharpay could tell what she was saying.

"Pray for Chad, Gabi, if you're going to pray," Sharpay jumped out the window after Ryan. Troy followed her.

"I'm praying for all of us," Gabriella crossed herself quickly and jumped out the window to follow them.

* * *

"I don't believe what I'm seeing. He'd rather be with you than with me? Puny, insignificant, disgusting human that you are as compared with me? Beautiful and strong and everything he should want."

Chad froze at the voice that was suddenly in his ear as he packed up his things. He knew instinctively who it was before he even considered turning around. Hadn't he known this day was coming? For days he had know that the vampire behind him would make a move. But, he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"Leave them alone, Tristan," Chad murmured under his breath, knowing that Tristan would hear him as clear as day, "You want me and you can have me, no fight, no struggle. Just leave them out of it."

"Of course," Tristan's voice was so close to his hear that he could feel the cool breath on his neck, "It's only you I want, after all. The others mean nothing to me. I thought Ryan would never leave you alone. You'll be the first of his flings that I'll kill before he's ended the relationship. It's quite exhilarating. You'll also be the only who will live after I've killed them."

"No!" Chad gasped, and felt Tristan's hard as stone hand strike him hard across the back of his head. The last thing he saw as he went down was Jason running toward him, a look of horror on his face.


	13. Chapter 13

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

It was hard to concentrate as he fought to bring himself back into full consciousness. Every time he would think that he had it, something would pull him back into strange, confused, dark dreams filled with pain and confusion. He wanted Ryan. That was the one thing he knew for certain. He wanted Ryan to come and wake him up. He tried to imagine that Ryan would wake him soon with a gentle kiss, whispering to him wishes for a good day and promising him that he'd be back just as soon as the sun was down. But, he knew that he couldn't just be sleeping because he hurt. God, he hurt. Everywhere.

"Wake up, Chadwick," A voice that was decidedly not Ryan's whispered in his ear, cool and unemotional, "Wake up right now!"

He came awake on a scream of pain when he felt, and heard, his left arm snap like a twig. His body reacted uncontrollably to the sudden pain as it struggled to pump enough endorphins into his system to compensate and keep him from going into shock and he realized in a back corner of his mind that he was only causing himself more harm when his upper body jerked up and slammed back down onto hard cement. He saw stars when his head struck and, though it was hard, forced his body not to react so violently so that he lay twitching on the floor, trying to clear his vision, trying to understand what was happening.

"Hurts, doesn't it?' Tristan leaned over him and his smile could have been called sympathetic if there hadn't been a hard edge of hate to it and a lack of sanity in his eyes, "Broken bones always do. Broken bones and broken hearts. I'll let you take a guess as to which hurts more. What do you think, Chadwick?"

Chad tried as hard as he could to keep his tears behind his closed eyelids and was proud of himself for not whimpering before he spoke, "You didn't hurt Jason…did you?"

"I keep my word, Chadwick," Tristan rolled his eyes and stood, lording over Chad. His expression went from amused to angry in less than a second, "I asked you a question, Chadwick! It's rude not to answer when a question is asked!" Chad couldn't hold in the scream when Tristan's foot connected with his ribs and he felt at least two, maybe three, of them break. He rolled onto his side in instinct, wrapping his uninjured arm around himself, not bothering to hide his sobs any longer.

"Care to answer now?" Tristan asked sweetly, crouching and cupping Chad's face in his hand, "Damn it all, but you are an appealing, Chadwick, aren't you? I can almost see what he sees in you. Even your pain is beautiful. But, he can't belong to you, Chadwick. He belongs to me. Always has. Now, answer the question, lovely," His voice was low and smooth, "Answer the question or I'll be forced to hurt you again."

He believed it, Chad realized. He believed it when he said that he'd be forced to hurt Chad if he didn't answer. He believed everything he said when he said it. Almost like a split personality. He was insane. Chad wondered how long it had been so. From the stories Ryan had told him, it had already begun when Ryan before he had met Ryan. Chad hadn't understood when Ryan was telling him, but now he knew. No one sane could be like Tristan, gentle and soft touches one moment, harsh and bruising the next. It was the same with his words. But, all Chad had to do was hold on until Ryan could track his scent. He knew instinctively that Ryan, Sharpay, Troy and Gabriella were coming for him. He just had to hold on and keep Tristan from killing him until then. So, what did Tristan want to hear?

"A broken heart," Chad gasped around his pain, "A broken heart hurts worse."

"Exactly," Tristan ran a gentle hand over his curls, "A broken heart festers and never heals, Chadwick. And Ryan did break my heart. But, I always knew that he'd come back to me if I just waited long enough. So I did. Two hundred years is a long time, Chad, even for an immortal. But, I never gave up hope because Ryan never stayed with any one man very long. Trying to find someone my equal, I know. He never could until you. He's been with you the longest of anyone Chadwick. Just a few months, I know, but it is a long time for him. And I can't wait anymore. Maybe when you've been turned we can form a triad. You will be such a beautiful child of the night, Chadwick. You, Ryan, and myself will be the most stunning train since Troy, Gabriella, and Sharpay. I will be the envy of the council with the two of you by my side."

"No," Chad moaned and flinched away from Tristan's touch, his fears coming to life. He suddenly remembered the glimpse he'd had not so very long ago, "No, I won't be a vampire. I won't! Ryan…Ryan promised."

"Too good to be a vampire, hmm?" Tristan's gentle smile turned into a snarl, "Too good to be with me? You're just like Ryan! Arrogant, spoiled, always searching for the next better thing! Ryan has such a fascination for humans. Did you know in two hundred years he only took two vampire lovers? Me and Caleb Powell. Of course, I had to kill Caleb for daring to touch my property, but that's neither here nor there. Do you know how many human lovers he's had? Take a guess."

"Ten," Chad gasped out when Tristan threw him on his back and stepped on his broken arm.

"Ten?" Tristan threw back his head and laughed, "In two hundred years? An unattached vampire? Try three hundred and fifty seven. Some one night, some more. I killed them all once he left them. They didn't deserve him and I couldn't chance that he would go back to one of them when he belongs with me. You understand. And what conclusion have I come to now, Chadwick?"

Chad screamed and felt a burst of adrenaline that gave him the strength to get to his feet when suddenly kicked out at his broken ribs again. He had taken self defense classes as a kid, had continued with karate until he got to college and even though he knew his black belt would mean nothing to Tristan as it meant nothing to Ryan he lifted his good arm, stood on the leg that didn't have the sprained ankle he didn't remember getting, and tried to blink the clouds away from his eyes. He knew that he probably had a concussion from when Tristan hit him the first time, but knew he had to work through it. He bit back the bile that rose in his throat and tried to look impressive and brave rather than shaky and in pain.

"You are a feisty one!" Tristan laughed, but it was high and tight and Chad could tell that he was still angry and knew instinctively that he wasn't going to live much longer. Just as he was preparing himself to try to run somewhere, anywhere, Tristan was suddenly at his throat, squeezing his windpipe even as he dropped to one knee, slamming Chad back onto his back on the cement floor. Chad's mobile hand automatically went to his throat and he struggled to pull air in through the small space Tristan was allowing him for breath.

"I have decided that I can't just kill you, Chadwick, because Ryan isn't planning on leaving you. But, he belongs to me!" Tristan emphasized the statement by slamming Chad's head into the floor yet again. Chad saw star and was thankful when he began to pass out. He was brought out of the fog screaming when Tristan drug something sharp along his body from armpit to hip cutting a long deep line into his flesh, "Listen to me! I'm not done yet! If you just plain old die he'll never forgive me and he'll probably commit suicide. Not what I want. But, if you're one of us, statistics say he'll lose all interest in you. I'll show up to comfort him. He'll come back to me. We'll be together forever. Good plan, isn't it? And since I have no patience…"

Chad could only moan lowly when Tristan ran the same thing he had used to cut into Chad's side over both of his arms from inner elbow to wrist. Chad decided it was time to gibe into the pain. Maybe, just maybe, he would die before Tristan had the time to turn him. Maybe he would be so lucky. He closed his eyes, allowing the darkness to begin to take him.

"Chad!"

He wasn't sure if he actually heard Ryan's voice and the splintering wood of a door or if he had just dreamed it before he finally gave in.

_I love you, Ryan. _

He knew he didn't say it, but Ryan would have been listening for him and it would be enough that he thought it.

_Goodbye. _

**A/N: Please, PLEASE leave a review if you have a moment. I would really appreciate it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

"Ryan! What a pleasant surprise!" Tristan smiled jovially as his former lover broke through the heavy door of the warehouse he had rented specifically for the purpose of turning Ryan's human whore into one of their kind. Ryan was snarling at him, his beautiful face contorted in his rage, but Troy, Gabriella and Sharpay held him back from attacking at he wanted to. Tristan's smile transformed slightly into a smirk. There were benefits to being on the Council. Troy knew that if Ryan attacked him now his life would be forfeit. Troy wasn't an idiot after all.

"It's been too long, Ryan," Tristan made a show of going over to a work table where he had set an ornate goblet he had filled with Chad's blood, "Please, do come in. Would you like a drink? I must say, this particular vintage is some of the best I've ever tasted."

"Where is he?" Ryan screamed, almost breaking free of the grips of the three older, stronger vampires who held him. Tristan's eyes flashed in appreciation. The vampire he had chosen to remain at his side for the rest of time was truly remarkable. It might take Ryan another two hundred years to forgive him for what he had done, but eventually he would come back to him. Of this, Tristan had no doubt what so ever.

"Now, Ryan," Tristan clucked his tongue and took another sip of the blood that really was some of the most flavorful he had ever tasted, "We haven't even seen each other in two hundred years. Is that any way to greet an old friend? Especially one who has offered you refreshment. I must say, your manners have become lacking."

"Where the hell is he, you bastard?" Ryan pulled harder on those holding him back. Tristan just smiled again. All four of them were snarling at him now, but the other three were keeping their heads about it.

"We can smell his blood, Tristan!" Troy called out, "We've been able to smell it for miles. Just tell us where he is!"

"Back room," Tristan shrugged, "But, don't blame me if you don't like what you find." He threw his head back and laughed as they let Ryan go and he was in the back room before any of them could see. Ryan's roar of disbelief and rage sent a shiver of lust through him that was not dampened even when Gabriella pushed him out of the way to get to the back room.

"What has he done?" Sharpay cried out when she caught her first glimpse of Chad, lying still not yet one of them, yet no longer alive and human in his own cooling blood. Ryan had pulled his still form into his arms and was begging Chad to come back to him, pleading with higher powers he no longer believed in to spare the human man he had come to love more than his own existence.

"No, no, no," Ryan moaned, stroking Chad's hair, rocking his unbroken body. Though his clothes were a mess of blood and tears, Sharpay could see no wounds on Chad's body.

"Madre del dios," Gabriella whispered when she realized exactly what had happened to Chad. For the first time in four hundred years she felt as if she would be sick. She knew it was a reaction purely of the mind, but turned away from the sight I front of her.

"Dear God," Troy knelt next to Ryan and put a hand to Chad's neck, feeling for a pulse, "He wouldn't. It's forbidden. It's too cruel."

"What has he done?" Ryan asked quietly. For a moment Troy was frightened of him as he'd never been frightened of anyone before.

"He has killed him, Ryan, drained him of blood, and given him some of his own. But, it's not enough. It's not enough to complete the transformation. His body lives like a vampire, but he…"

"Can I release him? Can I bring him peace?" Ryan's voice was so low Troy almost didn't hear it and he took a deep breath before answering.

"No… No one will be able to take what little life remains in him, but neither will the sun kill him yet. He either stays like this, between worlds, or someone must give him enough blood to complete the transformation."

The sound Ryan made then, a howl torn from his very soul, made them all shudder. Troy didn't even have a moment to think before Ryan had laid Chad gently on the floor and was back in the main room. Tristan's laughter followed Ryan's departure and they ran back into the room to see Ryan pinning Tristan by the neck against the far wall. Ryan was snarling. Tristan was laughing.

"You can't kill me, Ryan," Tristan laughed, "And even if you had the strength you wouldn't anyway."

"Try me!" Ryan screamed in his face, "You have taken everything from me!"

"Only because you took everything from me first!" Tristan screamed and they all watched in horror as his laughter became his own snarl and he pushed Ryan off of him. Ryan flew across the warehouse and landed hard against a wooden door. Tristan was there in the blink of an eye and had rammed a splintered piece through Ryan's shoulder into the door. Sharpay screamed, but Gabriella held her back.

"They're here," Troy murmured, "I'll direct them to us. Keep it going. Keep her out of it until I direct them to us."

"Go!" Gabriella whispered tensely, barely keeping her hold on Sharpay, struggling her arms to get to her paralyzed brother.

"Let me go!" She howled, "Let me go! Wood, Gabi! He'll kill him!"

"He won't!" Gabriella whispered tensely, "He's too deranged. He thinks he loves Ryan. Even if he tried to kill him he would make it last. We cannot attack him, Sharpay! He's much too strong and our lives would be forfeit! We're not on the Council and neither of us have laid claim to Chad! Just wait! My love, a few moments more. This will be settled by the Council."

"They are here?" Sharpay turned shocked eyes to Gabriella.

"Troy sent word to all of them three days ago on Chad's request."

"Chad's request?" Sharpay felt as if she couldn't breathe, "He knew this would happen?"

"He couldn't tell us exactly when it would happen. Only that it was soon. And he didn't know what would happen to him," Gabriella said, "More is the pity. But, he knew that Ryan would need them to rule in his favor to survive. I'm sorry we didn't tell you. He asked us not to. But, they are here now and it will all be taken care of. So, please, keep your head. Just a moment more."

Sharpay nodded and though her chest was tight and her muscles tensed to run to help her brother she kept her place at Gabriella's side. She made a low moan from the back of her throat that echoed Ryan's scream as Tristan pushed the wooden stake further into his shoulder. Wood was the only thing that could cause a vampire pain; so much pain that it paralyzed from the moment it entered the body. The fact was never spoken aloud and many new vampires never learned it until it happened to them. Sharpay hadn't felt pain in over two hundred years, but she felt it now as she watched it contort Ryan's face and heard it in his voice.

"You took everything from me when you took yourself away!" Tristan growled in Ryan's face, "I loved you, Ryan. I loved you so much. I was ready to spend the rest of eternity with you."

"How could you love me?" Ryan growled right back, "You couldn't even respect me! And how do you think I could love you now? You've killed so many innocent humans…"

"Don't forget Caleb," Tristan smiled pleasantly, his eyes lighting, "Killed him, too. He was just as innocent as all of the humans. Said he insulted me without cause. It pays to be on the Council. To be ancient as I am."

Ryan tried to jerk forward to attack Tristan and howled in a pain before snarling again, "There's no way the Council will back you now!"

"Please, Ryan," Tristan rolled his eyes, "I know you're upset now, sweeting, but soon enough you'll see that we belong together. No matter how long it takes, I can wait. I'm patient. You'll see. Soon enough we'll be laughing over this whole experience after we've made wild passionate love for hours. Maybe someday we'll even turn him completely, yeah? After he sees how in love we are he'll leave us alone. Or join us. Can't you see how magnificent it would be with the three of us together?"

"Never!" Ryan felt a tear roll down his cheek but didn't stop to marvel at it, his first in two hundred years. "I'll never be by your side. I'll have Chad buried and walk out into the sun before I let you touch me. The Council…"

"Will do nothing!" Tristan stood and laughed, "They've done nothing significant in nearly three hundred years. They're a bunch of dried up, scared little ancients huddling in their ancient homes, never coming out except to meet each other once every fifty years so that they can discuss how useless they are. They'll vote however I tell them to vote."

"Oh, will we, Tristan?" The deep, smooth as black velvet voice that interrupted what Sharpay was sure was going to be another well planned and insane rant by Tristan had her looking up in shock. She hadn't seen the whole of the Council in the same room in her lifetime. Seeing them now was something that no human would ever see and most vampires would only dream of seeing.

Helen was a stunning, blonde vampire and the oldest of all of those in existence to

their knowledge. She had been a vampire long before she was married to a Greek king and stolen away by a Trojan prince, starting the grandest war of the ancient world. Her then lover, Paris, now stood by Martha's side. Helen and Paris hadn't even lasted twenty years together as a couple after the ancient war had ended. They had come to realize that their passion was not love, but they had remained the closest of friends. It was hard not to remain friends, Sharpay considered, when there was only one other being who would live as long as yourself that you knew of at the time. Helen had led Paris to Martha after deciding that she didn't want the girl for herself and in turn Paris and Martha had led Helen to Nakoma, the woman she would eventually spend eternity with.

They were the four Sharpay had seen before, but the other four she had only heard stories of from Troy. Hirotaro, Aziza, Dimah, and Sadik had reputations for never leaving their homes unless it was Council business. In a corner of her mind she knew that this situation had become Council business, but it was still a shock to her system to see all of them in the same room. Troy and Tristan made them number ten. Briefly, the Council had considered expanding their number to eleven to include both Troy and Gabriella, but as Gabriella had turned down a place on the Council before it was given to Troy and showed no interest in ever being included the idea had died quickly. That had been before Sharpay's time. The Council, save for Tristan, now stood in a row, some with arms crossed, all with hard eyes, as they looked at him.

"Release him," Helen commanded, "We'll all settle this."

Tristan half snarled and half laughed before pulling the stake out of Ryan's shoulder. Gabriella and Sharpay were at his sides in an instant, helping him up and holding him back when he went to lunge for Tristan again.

"No!" Gabriella pulled hard on the shoulder the stake had been in moments before, making Ryan turn and hiss at her, "They're here now. Let them rule on it. He's the one at fault. Let it be done the right way."

"The right way!" Ryan snarled, "The right way would be letting me kill him with my bare hands!"

"And if we find that Tristan is at fault and has wronged you, young one," Sadik said kindly, "It will be so."

"Now, who will make a case first?" Martha asked pleasantly.

"I will!" Tristan growled, "I was hunting, feeding, and this one," He jerked his head at Ryan, "Attacked me without provocation. He has been obsessed with me since he was turned. I will admit that we spent a number of years together, but he has followed me no matter where I went since I left him. He's always been insane and the years have only increased it. He only takes human lovers and some day he's going to let slip what we are and forget to kill them. He's a danger to all of us and our lifestyle."

"Serious allegations all. Can we prove Ryan and Tristan were on the same continents at the same time the past two hundred years?" Paris raised an eyebrow and wrapped his arm around Martha's waist, "Hirotaro?"

Hirotaro closed his eyes briefly, "They were. More often than not in the same city."

"What have you to say, Ryan?" Paris asked.

_Keep your head and explain rationally, Ryan_, Troy sent the thought to Ryan as hard as he could, _Emotions will not help your case now._

Ryan took a deep breath to help himself calm down, "Members of the Council," Ryan began respectfully and he could see the members reacting to it. They stood up taller, paid more attention to him, "I thank you for being here to hear this case. It is true that often in the past two hundred year Tristan and I have been on the same continent, in the same city, at the same time. If it would please the Council, I have just recently discovered that my sister and her mates, Troy and Gabriella, have been tracking Tristan with Martha and Paris' help because they feared for my safety. Since I broke my relationship off with Tristan he has followed me and killed every single lover I have taken. It adds up to three hundred and fifty six humans and one vampire, Caleb Powell."

"It's true," Martha said, "We have been tracing Tristan or a good many years out of fear for Ryan's safety."

"It is not against our laws to follow a fellow vampire. Just as it is not against our laws to kill humans, nor to kill a fellow vampire's former lovers, especially if they are human. Can't see how you'd want a human lover to begin with," Dimah shuddered at the thought.

"No, it's not," Troy agreed. His anger was rising at Tristan's allegations toward Ryan. He wanted to tear him apart for trying to turn everything back on the perhaps one innocent party. Two, his mind corrected. Poor Chad was in the next room neither alive or dead due to this deranged vampire who had outlived his time, but he had to do this the right way or risk not only Ryan's life, but his own and the life of his girls. That was something he would never do. So, he smoothed a hand over his hair and kept his voice steady as he helped with the questioning, "But, Caleb Powell? What reason did you have to kill Caleb Powell, one of our own kind?"

"He insulted me," Tristan shrugged, "He did not give me the proper respect due as an ancient and a member of the Council. It was not a crime for me to take his life."

"Tristan's right," Helen shrugged, but Ryan could see the regret in her eyes. She didn't like Tristan anymore than he did, "Unless there is anything else, the Council can do nothing and I cannot see why we were called here in the first place."

"There is something else, my love," Nakoma put a hand on Helen's arm before Ryan could object, "Isn't there, Ryan? Something you were hoping not to have to bring into this. Someone. We can all smell the blood. What is going on?"

"Yes, what is going on?" Dimah sneered. He did not like coming away from his home and was bored with the proceedings, "I must say I agree with Helen when she says that it seems we were called here without cause. If you have wasted our time, Troy…"

"I haven't. I swear to it. Please, just listen. We should have brought this to your attention first, but we were trying to protect him."

"Protect whom?" Nakoma asked. She was resisting the urge to go put an arm around Ryan's shoulders with all her might. She could read on his face just how bad this was going to be.

Ryan forced himself to speak around the emotions in his throat, "I have recently been seeing a human, Chadwick Danforth. I know many of you do not understand my proclivity for humans, but I have fallen in love with him. Deeply in love. I was going to spend all of his life with him, then end my existence when he was gone. Now we'll never have that opportunity."

"Why is that?" Aziza spoke for the first time, a look of cautious curiosity on her dark face.

"Please, come look."

"No!" Tristan lunged for the door that separated the one crime he had committed by vampire standards from the rest of the Council. He had been so sure that he could convince them to leave without them seeing what he had done, Ryan could tell. He almost felt sorry for Tristan. How could he have possibly thought that they wouldn't smell the blood? Any vampire within a five mile radius would be able to smell it. He had truly gone insane and for a moment Ryan wondered how long it had been so. Should he have seen something when he was with Tristan? Should he have done something while they were together? Could he have done anything? He almost reached out to stop Sadik from roaring and using the very stake that had kept Ryan pinned moments before to pin Tristan to the door. Tristan looked so shocked. Nothing had hurt him in over four hundred years. The pain from the wood now stabbed through his chest made him scream. Pity rose in Ryan's heart until they walked through the door to the small back room and he saw Chad again.

Chad was just as still, just as grey, just as stuck between worlds. It took Ryan a moment to realize that the low, keening sound he heard was coming from himself even as fell to his knees and took Chad in his arms once again to rock him, wishing with all his heart that there were someway to change everything that had happened in the past three hours. The idea caught him. Had it only been three hours since Troy, Gabriella, and Sharpay had told him that Tristan was in the same city, that Tristan had killed every lover he had ever taken, that Tristan was after Chad? His reality had changed so much in just three hours. He felt another tear slip down his cheek and watched as it landed on Chad's beautiful, cool skin.

"I'm so sorry, my love," he kissed Chad's still lips, "So sorry."

"How… How could he?" Helen gasped at the sight in front of her, "The ten of us created these rules four hundred years ago when our numbers began to grow for a reason! No children! They're too young! No old ones! Their bodies are too frail! No half transformations! It's too cruel even for us who feed on humans! Three laws! Not hard to follow! Tristan, why the Hell have you done this?"

"Do we even know he did it?" Hirotaro asked. He held up his hands when the others glared at him, "We have to make sure."

"Aziza, you see into the heart of things," Troy looked at her expectantly. Ryan forced himself not to pull Chad away as the tall, graceful vampire knelt next to them and set a hand over where Chad's heart should have been beating. She closed her eyes lightly and he could see her eyes darting back and forth underneath her lids as she tried to get a reading on what had happened to Chad in the last hours. When her eyes snapped open she lunged for the open door and had to be held back by Hiortaro. He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder in an attempt to calm her and she turned shocked eyes on him. He just shrugged and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist, no longer holding her back but keeping her to him.

"What did you see?" Paris asked.

"Tristan did it on purpose," Aziza growled, "He whispered to Chadwick that he would turn him, despite the fact that Chadwick said he would rather die, then he didn't complete it. Chadwick's mind still lives. It screams. He's in such pain. Tristan has done this before. Many times. He knows exactly what it does."

"Can Chad hear me?" Ryan asked desperately.

"Doubtful," Aziza answered regretfully, "He's in too much pain."

"Chad," Ryan bent his head over Chad's form and looked up just as quickly again, his eyes blazing. He laid Chad down gently and then stood like lightning, "Rule now!"

Dimah was about to call him on his disrespect, but Helen put a hand up, "A vote has been called for. The vote will be cast. Guilty. Nakoma?"

"Guilty."

"Paris?"

"Guilty."

"Martha?"

"Guilty."

"Troy?"

"Guilty."

"Dimah?"

"Not guilty. The victim is only one human. Worthless." Ryan growled but kept his mouth shut and didn't move.

"Hirotaro?"

"Guilty."

"Aziza?"

"Guilty.

"Sadik?"

"I choose to exercise the right to abstain from the vote."

"Understood."

Helen ushered them out of the room so that they stood in front of Tristan, trying to remove the stake that Sadik had pinned him with. Aziza couldn't hold back any longer and screamed in rage, lunging for him and pushing the stake further into his body. Tristan screamed and his body convulsed.

"Enough!" Helen's voice stopped Aziza in her tracks, "The right does not belong to you, Aziza."

"I yield," Aziza snarled, "Happily."

Ryan stepped up to Tristan, "Why? Why did you do this to him?"

"To him?" Tristan gasped around his pain, tried to chuckle, "I was under the impression that I was doing it to hurt you. The way you hurt me."

"You're insane," Ryan growled, "I never hurt anything but your pride."

"Perhaps it was enough. Now, you'll be alone for the rest of eternity. I know you, Ryan. Or maybe you'll finally have the spine to walk out into the sun. I should have just let you that first day I saw you. Pale, spineless excuse for a vampire"

Ryan screamed. He'd heard enough. He pulled the stake out of Tristan's chest and slammed it back in again, through his heart this time, quick as lightning. Tristan make a choking noise and then went still, though his eyes darted around at them wildly. With a motion from Ryan Aziza and Hirotaro had removed Tristan and the rest of them stood frozen as they heard the two placing him none too gently on the roof. The sun would do the rest. Ryan felt hollow, empty. He wanted to feel vindicated, but there was just no way. He wished that there were some way that he could have killed Tristan himself, but knew it was just not to be. He felt no guilt, just an emptiness he'd never be able to express. He had failed Chad, failed him in the worst way he possibly could. He moved slowly, as if in a dream, and knelt at Chad's side once more. How could it be that he was still so beautiful? How could Ryan keep his promise never to turn him now when he would be in so much pain for the rest of eternity if he didn't?

"It isn't your choice to make anymore, Ryan," Sharpay whispered, kneeling next to him and taking him in her arms, "They've taken a vote. They're going to turn him now no matter what you say. Please, please, don't try to fight them."

"How did Troy vote, Shar?"

"He abstained from voting at all."

"He's a good man."

"I'm glad you finally figured it out."

"Shar!" Ryan held onto her as tight as he could, "He's never going to forgive me."

"Shh," she murmured as Sadik cut into his own wrist and held it to Chad's cold lips, "It's going to be alright. He will forgive you. He loves you and he'll see that you still love him more than anything." When he tried to turn to look at Chad completing the transformation she wouldn't let him. She just held him and rocked a little until it was all over with. Then, she let him go so that he could look at Chad as the new vampire took two deep breaths, opened his eyes for the first time, and sat up, looking at the world around him, at his own hands. He turned to look at Ryan and uttered four words that broke Ryan's heart.

"What have you done?"

**A/N: Please review if you have time. Sorry that this chapter was so long in coming.**


	15. Chapter 15

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

**A/N: So this is the end. I'll add an epilogue of sorts of the future of our two vampires if there's enough interest in one, but otherwise, this is where it ends. I would like to say thank you to everyone for sticking with this story nearly a year in the making. A special thanks for all the reviews it has received. I really appreciate it and I hope you have enjoyed reading! Thanks ever so, T.H.**

It wasn't raining. Taylor frowned up at the bright blue sky. It should have been raining. It didn't seem right that the rest of the world wasn't mourning when her heart, and the hearts of the people surrounding her, was breaking so. The funeral, held the day before, had been more of a memorial service for all those who remembered Chad, all those who had helped put up posters, all those who had worried themselves sick for months. They had all gathered together at the basketball court that Chad had loved so, placed flowers on the pavement, and spoken their favorite memories of Chad aloud. They had laughed more than they had cried, a testament to just how long it had been, and had played his favorite songs. When it was all over, they had all gone their separate ways feeling more calm and peaceful than they had in months. This plot dedication was just for Taylor, her parents, and Jason and Kelsi. They were the ones who had known Chad the best and they were most likely the only ones who would visit it in the future. It was only symbolic and they all knew it. There was no body. They couldn't be sure that Chad was even dead. But, they knew in their hearts that he would never do this to them if he were still alive.

Unlike the memorial the previous day there was no happiness now as they stood around the stone they had finally decided to put up. It was so simple. More simple than it should have been. Taylor couldn't help the tears that blinded her vision as she turned away from it. There should have been so much more to his life. Instead it was just all on his stone. His name, the date of his birth, the year of his -it was still hard to even think it- death, and three simple words that could not have been truer. _Gone too soon_. Yes, Chad had been taken from them too soon. The fact that he was gone was made harder by the fact that they just didn't know what had happened. She turned to look at Jason and Kelsi, holding each other tightly as they looked down at the stone. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Jason who had the tears rolling down his face and Kelsi who was comforting him. Jason had been blaming himself for what happened for nearly a year.

He still didn't remember clearly what had happened that night. About the only thing that was clear about that night was that Jason Cross was the last person to see Chad. They had been playing basketball with the guys. They'd been having a good time. The game was over and they were all packing up. Jason had taken a couple of shots just as the others were leaving the court and he had a vague recollection that, when he turned, a man with brown hair had been talking to Chad. Jason wasn't sure if Chad had collapsed or if the man had hit him. All he knew was that when Chad had hit the ground he had tried to get to him. He had woken up half an hour later on his way to the hospital in an ambulance after a passerby had seen him on the pavement and hadn't been able to wake him up. They'd had to put nine stitches in the cut in his hairline and he'd spent the night under observation.

Three days later, a detective had come to inform them that Chad's blood and the jacket he'd been wearing were found at a burnt out warehouse the arson unit had been investigating. The jacket, he explained gently, had been covered in blood resting in a large dried pool. He'd been compassionate and understanding of their grief when he'd told them that there was too much blood on the floor for Chad to have survived. But, they still didn't have a body. After watching Taylor collapse in her parents' arms and Jason and Kelsi holding onto each other to keep themselves on their feet, his tender heart had made him cry out without thinking that he wouldn't rest until he either found Chad for them or could at least bring his body home to them. Caleb McPhee had become a common sight in Taylor's apartment in the next year. He was there when the department had closed the case, but neither she nor any of their friends were ready to admit that Chad was really gone. He was there when they finally had. Taylor almost smiled when she felt a hand slip into hers, linking their fingers, and a strong arm wrap around her. She dropped her head to his shoulder.

"Are you okay, baby?" Caleb asked quietly, placing a gentle kiss to her neck. It had taken six months for her to realize that he'd stayed around helping for her. It had taken another month after that for her to get frustrated enough with him that she'd finally asked when he was going to ask her out. They'd been together since. She often considered him Chad's final gift to her. She'd never told Caleb, but she'd been expecting him. Just before Chad had left to play basketball that night he had pulled her aside and smiled as he leaned against the doorframe.

"What?"

"He'll have dark hair, Tay, and blue eyes. I'm not sure why you'll need him but it'll make you sad before he makes you happy. Happier than you've ever been in your life."

"You're sure about this?"

And he'd given her that look. That 'who do you think you're talking to here' look that he'd perfected as a young man, leaned in to kiss her cheek, and disappeared down the stair well after Jason. She could be happy now, that her final memory of Chad was one where they were both grinning and happy.

"I'm fine, Cal," she whispered, pressing her lips gently to his jaw to return the kiss he had given her, "It's just…a sad day, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," he rocked her a little. She sighed and leaned further into him, releasing his hand so that he could wrap both arms around her.

"I wish you could have met him. He was…I mean, he had his faults, but he was the best friend I've ever had. He was my brother. I miss him."

Caleb just continued to hold her. He didn't need to say anything. They'd had this conversation before.

It was hours later when she was back in her apartment, sipping a mug of sweet, hot tea, that she wished her parents had decided to stay with the after all. It was lonely, knowing that they were in town, but weren't in the apartment with her. She'd offered Chad's old room, but had understood when they had said that they just didn't feel right, especially when it still looked exactly as Chad had left it. She leaned against the doorway. It had been over a year since Chad had been in this room, in this apartment. Maybe it was time that she cleaned out his room, sent his stuff back home to be put in their parents' attic. She walked into the room she had avoided like the plague and sat down on the bed, looking around. There wasn't much of him here now, she mused. When she hadn't been able to go in before it was because it felt like intruding. Now that she had accepted he wasn't coming back it just felt a little sad, a little depressing. Her eye landed on a picture she herself had taken one night soon after Chad had started dating Ryan. They were on the basketball court just after one of the pickup games. She'd shouted at them to pretend like they liked each other and they'd wrapped arms around each other's waists and ginned at each other. It had been Chad's favorite picture.

She thought she'd gotten over it, but Ryan was still a sore spot, she mused as she turned the picture over. After Chad had disappeared Ryan had given up on him right away. She hadn't seen him even once when they were still looking for Chad. She had spoken on the phone with him. He had been so crass, so cold, when he said that Chad was gone and he needed to be able to move on. Gabriella, Troy, and Sharpay had been at the memorial the night before and Sharpay had tried to tell Taylor that it was because Ryan was still hurting so much over losing Chad that he was acting the way he was, but there had been something in her voice, something in her eyes, a regret, a lie, that let Taylor know she wasn't telling the truth, that she didn't believe a word she was saying. And since there was no reason to be angry at Chad any longer, she chose to stay mad at Ryan. She knew it probably wasn't fair, but she would most likely stay mad at Ryan for the rest of her life.

She looked around again one last time and decided she really didn't want to deal with it right now. Tomorrow. She'd deal with it all tomorrow when she wasn't feeling so raw. Tonight…she wanted to get a little bit drunk and then make love with Caleb when he got off of his late shift. Maybe when they were through and laying in the afterglow she'd ask him if he wanted to move in with her. He was practically living in the apartment anyway. Why not make it official? She knew she loved him and that he loved her. There was no reason not to live together. It would be better to pack up Chad's things when Caleb was with her anyway. She moved into the kitchen and pulled the mostly full bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard above the stove and poured a healthy amount into her tea mug.

"Drinking alone, Tay?"

She screamed, dropping her mug in the process, and spun around, a hand set to her heart. At first she didn't see anything in the darkened living room, but as her eyes adjusted she saw that someone was sitting on the couch, lounging on the couch, more like. His arms were spread across the back, his legs were crossed. She observed him from the bottom up. His shoes were expensive, Italian if she wasn't mistaken. They were worn with jeans she was sure cost more than her entire wardrobe and a dress shirt a deep wine color opened three buttons. When she saw that man's face she froze. It was the face she had been hoping and praying to see for months and he was smiling. She went with her first instinct and threw herself into his arms when he stood and opened them to her.

"Chad!" She sobbed into his neck, "Chad, you're alive!"

"In a manner of speaking," he chuckled softly.

"You're alive!" She suddenly pulled back and slapped him with all her might, "Do you know what the hell you've put us all through this past year? Where the hell have you been? I need to call Mom and Pop and Jason and Kelsi!"

"Taylor, no." Chad held her in a grip that was gentle as a feather and strong as steel, "No one else can know."

"What the hell do you mean no one else can know?" She squealed, trying to pull back so that she could slap him again.

"Taylor, it wouldn't be safe. I just couldn't go one more night without you knowing that I'm still here. In one form or another. It took me forever to convince them that you could keep the secret. If anyone else knows about it…let's just say it could be very dangerous. It's dangerous enough for you to know." He swallowed hard and his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them to look at her again, tears filled her eyes at the anguish in his voice, "Maybe I shouldn't have come at all. Maybe they were right and it's better to just let everyone think I'm dead. Maybe I should just disappear again. It would be safer for you."

"No!" She gasped, when a lightning strike of despair ran through her, "Chad, no!"

She gasped when she truly looked at him for the first time. He was pale, more pale than he should have been, but he didn't seem sickly at all. And his eyes! He released her arms as she reached up to frame his face with her hands. His eyes that had always been a beautiful chocolate brown were now a brilliant ice blue. She could see other differences now that she was looking. His features were sharper that they had been before. His hair, bound back, was smoother and longer than it had ever been. She could see the explosion of it around his neck and shoulders. At least it's volume hadn't changed, she mused. At least that one thing was still the same. She ran a hand over his face, down his neck and rested it against his chest, trying hard no to cry at the coolness of his skin, the way she couldn't feel a heartbeat through the fabric of his shirt.

"What…what happened to you?" she asked quietly, thinking she already knew the answer but never daring to say it aloud. It was impossible. It was insane. It just didn't make any sense. Not that much was making sense right now. How had Chad even gotten in? She knew all the doors were locked and they were on the seventh floor. She closed her eyes against her thoughts, hoping it would stop her brain from thinking the impossible, but no such luck. Her thoughts were still going there. She took an unsteady breath and looked at him again, waiting for him to answer her question.

"Something that had to happen in order to save my life," he answered just as quietly, "It's not something I chose, but no one could stop it. Not even Ryan, though he did everything he could."

"Ryan?" She couldn't stop the automatic stiffening of her shoulders and the chill that entered her voice.

"Don't do that, Tay. None of this was his fault. It took me a while to see it, too, but I won't let you believe the worst of him when he…he did all he could, okay?" His posture suddenly changed, and the tone of his voice. He looked down at her and smiled at little, taking a step back from her and sticking one hand in his pocket, "I'm going to be going away for a while. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. I just, before I go, needed to let you know that I'm still here."

"No!" She threw herself back in his arms, knowing that it was futile. If he really wanted to go there was nothing that she would ever be able to do to keep him, but she'd rather have him there despite how strange he was to her now than to have him gone for so long again. No matter how he had changed, he was still her Chad and having him gone was like having a part of herself gone, "No, you can't go!"

"Hey!" He dropped a gentle kiss to her head, "It's not forever. I promise. I swear. I'm just going to do some travelling. I'll call, and write, and I'll be back before you know it, okay? I needed to let you know and this is the first time I've really trusted myself to come and tell you. Sorry the timing is so lousy."

"Yeah, well. Your timing's always been lousy." She sniffled and tried not to smile when he took her chin and angled her face gently so that he could wipe the tears away, "I'll be here when you get back.

"Counting on it," he smiled and pulled her back into his arms. It was like hugging a brick wall. She nearly giggled, but held onto him as tight as she could despite the fact, "I know it's going to be hard not telling anyone, but I really need you to do this, Taylor, okay?"

She huffed and nodded. She wasn't going to win this one. It was his turn anyway. He seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I really do love you, Chad."

"Love you, too, Tay. Caleb ever hurts you just give me a call. I can take him out in a second. Really."

"I believe you," she muttered, then started, "How do you know about Caleb?"

He threw his head back and laughed and it was a little dark, a little sinister. It reminded her beyond a shadow of a doubt that even though he was still the Chad she knew and loved he was also something else now. Something more and something more than she would ever really have the capacity to understand. She had a sudden thought that sent a little chill down her back. She lived in the sun. Chad now lived in the dark, under the moon, a being of the night. But, that didn't make him evil like others thought, she decided, watching the laughter in his eyes as he continued to chuckle. No, he could never be evil. He was now what she had always seen in Ryan, Sharpay, Troy and Gabriella. And, even if he didn't know it yet, he was going to be happier in their world than he'd ever been in hers. She loved him enough to understand it and enough to let him go. She grinned up at him, stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, and pushed away from him.

"Don't answer that. Just get out of here, vampire boy."

He froze for a moment, then grinned, heading for the window, "I knew you were smart, Tay. Talk to you soon. Love you."

She forced herself not to scream and run for the window when he jumped out of it and walked calmly over. He waved up at her from the sidewalk seven stories down, his grin still evident despite the distance and began to walk away.

"I love you, too," she whispered and turned around, her brow furrowing, "Damn it!"

Now she was going to have to clean up the spiked tea all over her kitchen floor. She walked over, sighed down at the mess, and grabbed the whiskey bottle. She sighed at the mess one more time and took a deep drink of the alcohol before setting it back on the counter and grabbing a rag.

* * *

"Are you all packed, sweetheart?" Troy murmured softly as he wrapped his arm around Sharpay's waist and kissed the back of her neck lavishly.

"Mmm," she groaned lightly in ascent and leaned back into him, "When do we have to be at the airport again?"

"Not for another hour. We're taking the redeye out to Chicago. The hotel's already booked and the private jet has been booked for tomorrow night."

"I do love the private jet," Sharpay giggled when he began kissing her neck.

"And we do love to spoil you," Gabriella was suddenly at her front and leaning in to ravish her mouth thoroughly. Sharpay accepted the kiss with a sigh and melted into the arms of her lovers. She gasped, allowing Gabriella to deepen the kiss, as Troy's hand worked its way from her waist to cover her breast and massage it firmly. She was only vaguely aware that her lovers were backing her up to the bed before they all tumbled onto it. She laughed along with them as they began to strip themselves of their clothing.

"Do you really have time for that?" Ryan asked sardonically, an eyebrow raised as he passed their open door.

"There's always time for this," Sharpay moaned as Gabriella began to work kisses down her flat stomach. Ryan rolled his eyes and turned away. He was so glad that he would not be sharing a home with his sister and her lovers any longer. He wouldn't stay away as long as he had in the past, but he was not going to miss walking in on them as they had no shame and no modesty and when they wanted each other it didn't matter where they were or who was watching. And, he mused, voyeurism was not one of the traits in his personality.

"We'll see you at the airport!" Troy called just as Ryan reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Not waiting for a later flight if you're late!" Ryan called back.

When a moan answered him he rolled his eyes again and walked out the front door. The limousine driver was kind enough to take the bags he was carrying and he shut the door firmly behind him as he explained that the others would have to be picked up after he had been dropped off at the airport. For a moment he sensed the driver's annoyance and he assured him quietly that he would be paid double for his trouble. After that the driver's thoughts lightened considerably and he happily took the heavy bags to the limousine. Ryan took one last look up at the house that he had lived in for the nearly two years. It had seen him through so much. He had never really been as attached to a place as he was to this lovely brownstone. But, it wasn't as if he was leaving it forever. They would be back after he had shone Chad all of the wonders he wanted him to be able to see. Chad would never want to be far from Taylor and, when she was gone, her children and her children's children, and he only ever wanted to be where Chad was. He smiled up at the house, set a hand to the brick, still warm from the sun's warmth and reminded himself to thank Troy for signing it over to them again. When he turned to look back at the limousine he felt his heart melt to see Chad leaning against the elaborate vehicle.

"They at it again?"he asked, pretending to study his nails.

"Surprised?" Ryan sighed.

"Not at all." Chad looked up, smiled, and opened his arms to Ryan.

Ryan made sure the driver wasn't looking and practically flew into Chad's arms he was moving so fast. Chad held him close and tight and they took a moment to breathe in each other's scents before fitting their mouths together in a firm, deep kiss.

"Everything go alright with Taylor?" Ryan asked as they got into the limo and the driver shut the door behind them.

"Fine," Chad smiled when he sat up against the door, pulling his feet onto the long seat and Ryan settled in between his legs, his back to Chad's chest. He wrapped one arm around Ryan's shoulders and the other around his waist, wanting him as close as possible, "More than fine. They went great. She's already figured it out. She won't tell anyone. Or if she does, she'll only tell Caleb. That's alright, isn't it?"

"Just fine," Ryan smiled, "If the Council ever asks we'll say we've taken the family as our protectorate. Believe it or not, it's a fairly common practice. Even vampire need links to the modern, human world."

"Is that what I would have been?" Chad asked, nuzzling Ryan's hair, "Your protectorate?"

"To the Council at least," Ryan agreed.

"Speaking of the Council," Chad kissed the spot just below Ryan's ear that made him sigh, "Paris and Martha will meet us in London?"

"Yes," Ryan and agreed, "And Aziza and Hirotaro would like to see us when we move on to Africa. Helen and Nacoma would like to show us around Greece. Sadik wants us to visit him in Turkey. It's amazing the liking they've taken to you, lover. I would be willing to bet that before you're one hundred they ask you to take Tristan's place on the Council."

Chad stiffened at the mention of Tristan's name but relaxed automatically, "What would you think of that?" he asked uncertainly.

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy, Chad. Just because I have no interest in joining the Council does not mean that you wouldn't enjoy it. But, you'll have a while before they ask you, in any case."

They slipped into a comfortable silence as the ride to the airport continued, each thinking their own thoughts. Chad was going over his conversation with Taylor, smiling at it and the fact that he already knew that Caleb was going to be perfect for her and one day she would tell him that her best friend was not, in fact, dead, but a vampire and would live forever. He had already glimpsed that he and Ryan would always be a part of Taylor's life and a part of her family's line. They would tell stories of the men who only came out at night and protected them and loved them and never seemed to age. It was going to wonderful. He marveled at how much stronger his glimpses were now that he was a vampire and how focused they could be when he wanted them to be.

Ryan followed Chad's thoughts for only a moment before they trailed off. First going to the Council, then going to that horrible night when he had thought he had lost Chad forever. Even after Sadik had completed Chad's transformation, there had been no guarantee that he hadn't lost Chad forever. When Chad had asked him what he had done, Ryan's mind had gone white. He didn't really remember what had happened after that, only that he had gotten to his feet and he had run. He had run as far and as fast as he could, trying to outrun the shame of what he had allowed to happen to Chad, the anger he felt at himself for not being stronger and at Tristan for making Chad's transformation the only way he could live even after he knew that it was the only thing Chad didn't want, and the pain of Chad's rejection. He'd run until the sun was rising and had fully intended to just let it wash over him, but Martha and Paris had been following him the whole time and they pulled him into a basement and held him down until the urge to sleep had been too much for any of them to resist and they had fallen into dreams until the sun was down again.

That next night Martha had held him and rocked him gently as he mourned over Chad. Just before the sun had risen again Troy had found them. He had looked at the pitiful sight Ryan made and rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"You're such a drama queen, Ryan," He'd sounded bored, "You never think do you? If you had stuck around you would have been there when Helen explained everything to Chad and you would have been there to see him fall apart when he realized what he'd said. The both of you!" Here Troy had thrown up his hands in a rare show of annoyance, "I swear, you're both going to have to learn to think before you talk and talk to each other before you act! Do you know how many of your problems could be solved just by keeping your cool with each other?"

"Chad still wants me?" Ryan had ventured quietly, not daring to believe it.

"Of course he does," Troy had rolled his eyes, "I convinced him to wait with Shar and Gabi and the others because I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to find you and he refuses to drink before he can see you! I didn't want him to be any more tempted or in any more pain than he already is."

"He hasn't had a drink yet?" Ryan had gasped and jumped to his feet.

"Not one drop," Troy had affirmed, "He refuses until he can see you with his own eyes and make sure you're alright."

"But, he's newly changed! It must be torture for him!"

"Yep," Troy had agreed, "But, he's showing remarkable self control. He wouldn't even take the blood when Gabi held the goblet right under his nose. He's even got Dimah impressed. Helen and Nakoma think he's a dear, their words not mine, Aziza finds him charming, Hirtotaro thinks he's fascinating, and Sadik says he's a great, intelligent conversationalist. I don't think you'll ever have to worry about the Council siding with anyone but you and Chad in any debate you might have with another vampire."

Ryan hadn't really heard him at all, "I have to get back to Chad!"

"Not tonight!" Paris had grabbed him and Troy had shut the door again, "The sun's almost up. Run as fast and hard as you can to get back to him tomorrow night, but we'll be staying here to sleep, Ryan."

Luckily the sun had come up just then and put a stop to any conversation before Ryan could argue and annoy them all further. When he had gotten back to Chad they had fallen together like two men denied seeing each other for three centuries rather than three days. The women had sighed, finding their reunion utterly romantic as they stumbled over apologies to each other in between hungry, desperate kisses. Over the next year Ryan had taught Chad how to control himself, how to take enough blood to satisfy his thirst without taking life. Chad hadn't yet slipped and he still had so many human friends that Ryan thought he probably never would. He had decided just three weeks ago that he wanted to take Chad to see all of the amazing places he had been in his long life and Chad had agreed completely. His only stipulation was that he be allowed to contact Taylor before they went. He finally trusted his own control and she was the most important human in the world to him. Troy had told him that as long as he didn't tell her outright what they were that all would be fine and so Ryan had let him go, knowing that he needed to do it alone.

"Mmm, Chad…" Ryan moaned when he felt Chad's lips on his neck and the hand that was resting on his waist dip further down to rub him firmly through his pants, "We're not alone…"

"So?" Chad asked, nipping at Ryan's neck, "He can watch if he wants. I haven't been with you since…" Chad paused to consider and Ryan laughed.

"Since just after sundown! You're insatiable. I swear, we're going to be just as bad as Shar, Gabi, and Troy."

"I have no problem with that," Chad growled and licked a gentle path up the shell of Ryan's ear as he rubbed more insistently.

"Nor would I under normal circumstances," Ryan groaned, "But, we're at the airport now. I promise, you can have your wicked way with me at the hotel when we land in Chicago. Fair enough?"

"It'll do," Chad sighed in disappointment as their door was opened.

They waited in line like everyone else and ignored the glares and mutters that were sent their way when people saw their linked hands and again when they stood by the large windows watching planes take off and Chad held Ryan in his arms. The mutters stopped being aimed at them and were aimed at Sharpay, Troy and Gabriella as soon as the very obvious triad made their appearance. Chad and Ryan simply smiled at the way Troy doted on his girls and the way his girls adored him and each other and turned back to the window.

"No regrets, my love?" Ryan whispered after a time.

"None," Chad answered without delay, "I love you, Ryan."

"I love you, too," Ryan turned his head to fit his mouth to Chad's for a brief, loving kiss.

"Flight 2739 to Chicago now boarding." Came the announcement and they broke their kiss.

"Ready?" Chad asked, picking up their small carry on bags in one hand and taking Ryan's hand in his other.

"Of course," Ryan answered.

"Do you really think the three of us could do that in an airplane toilet?" Ryan rolled his eyes at Chad when they heard Sharpay whisper excitedly. Chad just gave him a long suffering look and sigh. And they both began to laugh.


	16. Chapter 16

**All previous disclaimers apply.**

**Author's Note: This is the last chapter. I tried for some smut but nothing seemed right. I'm sorry that it took so long to get up. I hope everyone has enjoyed the story.**

**I want to give a special thanks to the reviewers of this story. You have been so encouraging and so wonderful in your comments. It has really kept me encouraged and I loved reading every single one of them. Thank you all.**

"Excited?" Ryan asked quietly as Chad pulled at the tie he had put on before they left the house. Ryan laughed and pulled the tie loose from Chad's neck and off over his head.

"Hey!" Chad cried out as Ryan tucked the tie in his pocket.

"Chad's you never wear ties. You hate them. Taylor knows you hate him. Why the hell would you put one on when we come to visit her?"

"She's older now," Chad mumbled, "Maybe she'll expect me to act more mature."

"Chad, she's your sister. She knows you," Ryan stood on his toes to place a kiss to his lover's forehead, "She loves you. She doesn't need you to be anything other than who you are."

"We shouldn't have stayed away so long," Chad sighed, setting his forehead to Ryan's and holding him close.

"It's been nine months, Chad. Hardly forever. Are you ever going to knock?"

"Yeah. I love you."

"I love you. Knock on the door."

Chad had just raised his hand when the door opened up and a little face peered up at him with wide eyes.

"Uncle Chad!" In seconds the little girl was swooped up into Chad's arms and Chad breathed her scent in deep, loving the way she giggled when he pressed a kiss to her throat and growled playfully when she shrieked with laughter and struggled to get away.

"Uncle Ryan, save me!" The little girl reached out to Ryan and screamed happily as Ryan pulled her out of Chad's arms and flipped her neatly onto his back, where she clung like a monkey, pressing sweet kisses to Ryan's hair.

"Shame on you, Chad," Ryan scolded with a smile, "Torturing our niece that way. Merry Christmas, Julia." He looked up at the little girl on his back.

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Ryan," Julia giggled again as they all walked into the apartment.

"Uncle Chad!" An older and no less female voice called out just as the door closed behind them and suddenly Chad's arms were full of tall, beautiful, and just grown young woman.

"Sweet Caroline!" Chad held her close and kissed her hair, "How's the big college girl?"

"Good."

"First semester went well?"

"Perfectly," she assured him as she took his arm and led him back into the kitchen where all of the family gathered when they were together, "Two Bs and the rest As."

"That's my girl! Boys?"

"There's one. Might have some potential. If he does I'll bring him around next time."

"Sounds good. How's Grandma?"

"She's great, Uncle Chad. She's feeling great. She's still a little sad about Grandpa sometimes, but they were married for sixty-seven years. It's to be expected. She's moving a little slower and I'm glad Marcus moved in with her for the company and to make sure she's okay, but…" She shrugged in the manner he knew she had learned from Ryan and it made him smile.

"We shouldn't have stayed away for so long," Chad sighed.

"Uncle Chad," Caroline stopped and moved in front of him, putting her hands on her hips just like Taylor. He smiled inside, "We all get it. You guys stayed around for a lot longer than you should have to make sure that Grandma was okay after Grandpa died. You can't stay for more than a few years so that people don't suspect. We all understand. Grandma understands. We didn't expect you back for a couple of years, truthfully. Grandma will be so excited. Does she know?"

"Nope," Chad grinned then and caught a stray thought from Caroline about how much cooler it would be if he and Ryan had fangs and he realized that she wasn't yet quite grown. She would probably still be a little bit of a little girl for a little while longer. It made him inordinately happy, "It's a surprise for her. Which she should be realizing just about…" He arched an eyebrow just as the murmur of conversation in the kitchen became a roar of welcome. Caroline giggled and dashed away.

"Uncle Chad!" It was his favorite name in the world and he opened his arms invitingly as more nieces and nephews came flooding out of the kitchen. After all of the welcomes had been said he moved toward the kitchen and the family parted to let him make his way.

Taylor was leaning against the doorjamb, her arms crossed and laughter in her eyes. It had been sixty-eight years since he had been human and, honestly, he had never expected her to be around for this long and still as active as she was. The miracles of modern medicine. Her frame was still straight and tall, her hands were still strong, her face was lined, her hair was white, and her eyes were the exact same as they had always been. She was beautiful to him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his whole long life.

"Gonna hug me?" She asked. Her voice wasn't as strong as it had once been, but her words were. It was only a split second before he was across the room and gathering her close to him carefully because she wasn't as sturdy as she had once been.

"Hey, baby," she whispered in his ear as he held onto her and rocked slightly.

"Hey, Tay," He whispered back. When they had gotten their fill of each other he pulled back to grin at her and wiped away the tears from her face with the pads of his thumbs. She wiped away the single tear that had come from him and laughed. It was the same laugh it had been so long ago, open and carefree. It was impossible not to join in when Taylor laughed and soon they were all doing so and moving in for a hug that was a jumble of arms and legs and family that had always been connected.

For a moment Ryan hung back, simply appreciating the sight of Taylor, her four children, the ten children they had made between them and the two great-grandchildren that had come along so far. There was such a variety of hues of skin from the spouses and the children, and yet they were all beautiful to him. He had lived so long without a family protectorate, had never wanted one. Now he couldn't imagine not having one. There had been a couple of close calls over the years where a new boyfriend or girlfriend couldn't adapt to the family and had threatened to expose Chad and Ryan, but the family loved them. To become part of the clan it was a requirement to keep the secret and no matter how much someone might love them, if they couldn't handle it they were quietly shown the door. On those occasions Ryan and Chad called Sharpay in. She loved to terrorize those individuals into silence, though they always made sure terror was as far as it went. After their secret was safe again a better mate was found by Ryan and Chad and led to the one whose heart had been broken, though they never told the family that they were the matchmakers.

"Uncle Ryan, get in here!" Marcus shouted. Ryan smiled at his large, muscled nephew and joined in the hug. Hours later the apartment had been vacated save for Chad, Ryan and Taylor herself. Marcus had gone home with Caroline so that he could spend Christmas morning with his little sister though everyone would be back at Taylor's by five the next evening for Christmas dinner. Taylor was sitting on the bed as Chad and Ryan hung the black out curtains that Taylor kept for them when they decided to sleep over for the day.

"I'm glad you're here, Chad," she smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek when he sat on the bed.

"Wouldn't miss a Christmas, Tay," Chad hugged her close and pressed a kiss to her hair.

"I know you wouldn't. And I know you boys won't go to bed for a few more hours, but I'm not as young as I used to be. I can't pull an all nighter anymore."

"Go to bed, Taylor," Ryan kissed her hair too, "We'll see you when the sun sets."

"I love you both," Taylor got up and made her way slowly to the door, where she turned around and smiled, "I really do love you both."

"We really do love you, too, Tay," Chad grinned and Ryan blew Taylor a kiss, "Goodnight. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, boys."

Chad's frame when loose as Taylor shut the door behind her and Ryan's arms went around him. He pressed a kiss to Chad's neck and they rocked gently in the quiet, sharing a grief that they couldn't express in words.

"Her heart's gotten so weak," Chad whispered finally, "This will be her last Christmas."

"She's had a wonderful long life, Chad, for a human, and she's been happier than any ten we've ever encountered. She raised fine children and watched them raise fine children and some of them are staring to raise their own. She's at peace, Chad. And you know that she hasn't been the same since Caleb died. She loved him the way I love you. She's been stronger than either of us. If you were to die…I would walk out into the sun as soon as it was up."

"I know what you're saying is the truth, Ryan," Chad said quietly, laying them both down on the bed and pulling Ryan on top of him. Ryan got comfortable and snuggled so that his head was under Chad's chin, "It's just hard. Taylor's the last. First Mom and Dad, then Jason and Kelsi, then Caleb, now Taylor. It's hard."

"And it's never going to get easier, love. Some day Caroline and Marcus will die, too. Even Julia won't live forever."

"I don't want to think about it right now," Chad pinched Ryan's backside, "Julia's only three. She has a long life ahead of her."

"And we'll be here to make sure it's every bit as full and happy as Taylor's was. Take joy in that fact, Chad. We'll always be here to make sure that they're happy. Taylor's been happy. They all will be."

"You're right," Chad took Ryan's chin in his hand and angled his head to fit their mouths together just so.

"You'll learn some day that I'm always right," Ryan laughed against his mouth.

"Oh yeah?" Chad raised an eyebrow. It was a conversation they had nightly and he never tired of it.

"Yeah," Ryan grinned in return.

"Do you need to feed tonight?" Chad asked suddenly.

"No," Ryan rolled over and hooked one arm around Chad's waist and wrapped a leg around one of Chad's, "I'm good for a couple more days. You?"

"I'm fine. Now we've got at least a good five hours before the sun rises. Whatever shall we do?"

Ryan laughed and pulled Chad on top of him, "I wonder," He leaned up to kiss Chad, "I love you, Chadwick."

"I love you, too, Ryan. I always have and I always will. You are the something inside of me that was missing when I was human. Despite what I thought at first…I'm glad to be with you for the rest of eternity."

"You're my something inside, too, Chad," Ryan brushed his hair back from his face, "And I'm hoping, if you ever decide to stop talking, that it will be in more ways than one."

"You have a dirty mind, Ryan."

"You love it, Chad."

"Good point."

"Chad?"

"Shut up and make love to me."

Chad laughed and proceeded to do just that.


End file.
